Working with text frames

To create a text frame of a specific type in VBScript, use the TextFrames method that corresponds to the type of frame you want to create::

Set rectRef = docRef.PathItems.Rectangle(700, 50, 100, 100)

' Use the AreaText method to create the text frame
Set areaTextRef = docRef.TextFrames.AreaText(rectRef)

Threaded frames

As in the Illustrator application, you can thread area text frames or path text frames.

To thread existing text frames, use the NextFrame or PreviousFrame property of the TextFrames object.

When copying the following script to your script editor, place the value of the Contents property on one line. The long-line character (_) is not valid within a string value.

Set appRef = CreateObject("Illustrator.Application")
Set myDoc = appRef.Documents.Add
Set myPathItem1 = myDoc.PathItems.Rectangle(244, 64, 82, 76)
Set myTextFrame1 = myDoc.TextFrames.AreaText(myPathItem1)
  myTextFrame1.Contents = "This is two text frames linked together as one story, with text flowing from the first to the last."
Set myPathItem2 = myDoc.PathItems.Rectangle(144, 144, 42, 116)
Set myTextFrame2 = myDoc.TextFrames.AreaText(myPathItem2)

'Use the NextFrame property to thread the frames
myTextFrame1.NextFrame = myTextFrame2

appRef.Redraw()

Threaded frames make one story object

Threaded frames make a single story object. To observe this, run the following VBScript after running the script above.

Set myDoc = appRef.ActiveDocument
myMsg = "alert(""There are " & CStr(myDoc.TextFrames.Count) & " text frames. "")"
appRef.DoJavaScript myMsg
myMsg = "alert(""There are " & CStr(myDoc.Stories.Count) & " storiess. "")"
appRef.DoJavaScript myMsg