Illustrator JavaScript Object Model Quick Reference
Containment Hierarchy
Application (app)
└─ Document
├─ Layer
│ ├─ pathItems[] → PathItem → PathPoint[]
│ ├─ compoundPathItems[] → CompoundPathItem
│ ├─ textFrames[] → TextFrame
│ │ ├─ characters[] → TextRange (single char)
│ │ ├─ words[] → TextRange (word)
│ │ ├─ paragraphs[] → TextRange (paragraph)
│ │ ├─ lines[] → TextRange (line)
│ │ └─ insertionPoints[]
│ ├─ placedItems[] → PlacedItem
│ ├─ rasterItems[] → RasterItem
│ ├─ meshItems[] → MeshItem
│ ├─ pluginItems[] → PluginItem
│ ├─ graphItems[] → GraphItem
│ ├─ symbolItems[] → SymbolItem → Symbol
│ ├─ groupItems[] → GroupItem (recursive pageItems)
│ ├─ nonNativeItems[] → NonNativeItem
│ └─ legacyTextItems[] → LegacyTextItem
├─ Artboard[]
├─ Swatch[] / Spot[] / Gradient[] / Pattern[]
├─ GraphicStyle[] / Brush[] / Symbol[]
├─ Story[]
├─ CharacterStyle[] / ParagraphStyle[]
├─ Variable[] / Dataset[]
└─ View[]
Artwork Item Types (pageItems members)
| Type |
typename |
Collection |
Notes |
| Path |
PathItem |
pathItems |
Lines, shapes, freeform paths |
| Compound path |
CompoundPathItem |
compoundPathItems |
Multiple paths combined |
| Group |
GroupItem |
groupItems |
Contains nested pageItems |
| Text frame |
TextFrame |
textFrames |
Point, area, or path text |
| Placed image |
PlacedItem |
placedItems |
Linked external files |
| Raster image |
RasterItem |
rasterItems |
Embedded bitmaps |
| Mesh |
MeshItem |
meshItems |
Gradient mesh objects |
| Graph |
GraphItem |
graphItems |
Chart/graph objects |
| Plugin item |
PluginItem |
pluginItems |
Plugin-generated art |
| Symbol instance |
SymbolItem |
symbolItems |
Instance of a Symbol |
| Non-native |
NonNativeItem |
nonNativeItems |
Foreign objects |
| Legacy text |
LegacyTextItem |
legacyTextItems |
Pre-CS text objects |
Color Object Types
| Object |
Color Space |
Value Range |
Notes |
RGBColor |
RGB |
0-255 per channel |
.red, .green, .blue |
CMYKColor |
CMYK |
0-100 per channel |
.cyan, .magenta, .yellow, .black |
GrayColor |
Grayscale |
0-100 |
.gray (0=black, 100=white) |
LabColor |
Lab |
L: 0-100, a/b: -128 to 127 |
.l, .a, .b |
SpotColor |
Spot |
tint 0-100 |
.spot, .tint |
PatternColor |
Pattern |
- |
.pattern, .matrix |
GradientColor |
Gradient |
- |
.gradient, .origin, .angle |
NoColor |
None |
- |
Transparent/no fill |
Common Scripting Constants
Document and Color
DocumentColorSpace.RGB / .CMYK
Text
Justification.LEFT / .CENTER / .RIGHT / .FULLJUSTIFY / .FULLJUSTIFYLASTLINELEFT / .FULLJUSTIFYLASTLINECENTER / .FULLJUSTIFYLASTLINERIGHTTextType.POINTTEXT / .AREATEXT / .PATHTEXTFontBaselineOption.NORMALBASELINE / .SUPERSCRIPT / .SUBSCRIPT
Paths
PointType.SMOOTH / .CORNERStrokeCap.BUTTENDCAP / .ROUNDENDCAP / .PROJECTINGENDCAPStrokeJoin.MITERENDJOIN / .ROUNDENDJOIN / .BEVELENDJOIN
Transformations
Transformation.DOCUMENTORIGIN / .BOTTOM / .BOTTOMLEFT / .BOTTOMRIGHT / .CENTER / .LEFT / .RIGHT / .TOP / .TOPLEFT / .TOPRIGHT
Blend Modes
BlendModes.NORMAL / .MULTIPLY / .SCREEN / .OVERLAY / .SOFTLIGHT / .HARDLIGHT / .COLORDODGE / .COLORBURN / .DARKEN / .LIGHTEN / .DIFFERENCE / .EXCLUSION / .HUE / .SATURATIONBLEND / .COLORBLEND / .LUMINOSITY
Element Placement
ElementPlacement.PLACEATBEGINNING / .PLACEATEND / .PLACEBEFORE / .PLACEAFTER / .INSIDE
Z-Order
ZOrderMethod.BRINGTOFRONT / .SENDTOBACK / .BRINGFORWARD / .SENDBACKWARD
Save/Export
SaveOptions.SAVECHANGES / .DONOTSAVECHANGES / .PROMPTTOSAVECHANGESExportType.PNG24 / .PNG8 / .JPEG / .SVG / .TIFF / .PHOTOSHOP / .AUTOCAD / .FLASH / .GIFCompatibility.ILLUSTRATOR8 through .ILLUSTRATOR24PDFCompatibility.ACROBAT4 through .ACROBAT8
Gradient
GradientType.LINEAR / .RADIAL
Variables
VariableKind.TEXTUAL / .IMAGE / .VISIBILITY / .GRAPH
User Interaction
UserInteractionLevel.DISPLAYALERTS / .DONTDISPLAYALERTS
Print
PrintArtworkDesignation.ALLLAYERS / .VISIBLELAYERS / .VISIBLEPRINTABLELAYERS
Unit Conversions
| From |
To Points |
Formula |
| Inches |
Points |
inches * 72 |
| Centimeters |
Points |
cm * 28.346 |
| Millimeters |
Points |
mm * 2.834645 |
| Picas |
Points |
picas * 12 |
| Em units |
Points |
(emUnits * fontSize) / 1000 |