Re: Creating maintainable code with ExtendScript

Hi Tom,

This is something I did struggle with for many years (especially the compatibility control from going from one DOM version to another when my software updates).

My solution after a lot of trial and error was to use a custom library and try to keep each function as single responsibility (this also helps me make sweeping changes to all my code without breaking anything). By doing this I can wrap my function into a particular DOM version if the function is no longer supported after an InDesign update.

For example:

function BE_pageItemDelete(pageItemLabel) {    // Initiate version control    var currentDomVersion = app.scriptPreferences.version;    var neededDomVersion = "6.0"; // This is the version number that is needed to run the encapsulated code    if (neededDomVersion !== app.scriptPreferences.version) {        currentDomVersion = app.scriptPreferences.version;        BE_domVersion(neededDomVersion);        }     // Function script    app.activeDocument.pageItems.item(pageItemLabel).remove();     // Reverse version control    if (currentDomVersion !== neededDomVersion) {        BE_domVersion(currentDomVersion);        }    }
function BE_domVersion(version) {    app.scriptPreferences.version = version;    }

Because DOM version > 6.0 doesn't support script labeling I need to force the DOM to 6.0 and reset it back to the original DOM version after the function runs. I don't know if this is a good or elegant method in the real world but it works for my workflow processes.

Brett