How to force script to read a real property?

Question

Hi,
Help me manage this, pls. We have a textFrame with, say, 3 columns.
TextColumns line.length is different couse widow/orphans settings.
so to fix it I try to run this:
// some text in middle column is selected.
MC = app.selection[0].textColumns[0];
Pcount = MC.paragraphs.length;
lines_count = MC.lines.length;
    if (Pcount > 1) {
        do 
            for (var x = Pcount-1; x >0; x--) {
                stopped = x;
                lines_count1 = MC.lines.length; // shouldn't be changed?
                MC.paragraphs[x].spaceBefore = MC.paragraphs[x].spaceBefore + 1;
                alert (lines_count1 + "; " + lines_count + "; " + MC.paragraphs[x].spaceBefore);
                MC.recompose(); // doesn't matter write it or not
        while (lines_count1 == lines_count); // this stay true
        MC.paragraphs[stopped].spaceBefore = MC.paragraphs[stopped].spaceBefore - 1;
variables "line_count" and "line_count1" should start to differ inside while loop... but they do not. Why?
thx

Answer 1

This is the problem with text specifiers that has been discussed a number of times here. Try this modified code:
function main() {
  var column = app.selection[0].textColumns[0],
      paragraphs = column.paragraphs.everyItem().getElements(),
      startLineCount = column.lines.length,
      i;
  if (paragraphs.length > 1) {
    do {
      for (i = paragraphs.length - 1; i > 0; i--) {
        paragraphs[i].spaceBefore += 1;
    } while (startLineCount === column.getElements()[0].lines.length);
    for (i = paragraphs.length - 1; i > 0; i--) {
      paragraphs[i].spaceBefore -= 1;
app.doScript(main, ScriptLanguage.JAVASCRIPT, undefined, UndoModes.FAST_ENTIRE_SCRIPT);
Jeff