Inserting a library item on a page using Javascript

Question

Hello,
I have a library with 6 different layouts in it.  I need to be able to place these on the page from an external program.  I have all my code in place to send commands to Indesign, but I'm not sure how to reference the Library items.  Can I reference them by name?  As well, I would like my external custom app to be able to list all the library items so that the user can select which one to insert.  I'm at a total loss as to how to do this.
I need help with these two things:
1) obtain an array or list of all the items in a particular Library, which is already open.
2) Once I have the list of library items I need to be able to place one or multiple on the page keeping track them so I can place images and text in the appropriate boxes.
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.  I'm using Indesign CS3 and my external app is coded in Objective-C on a Mac.  I prefer Javascript as I'm very familiar with it as opposed to Applescript.
Thanks for any help provided.
Dave Williams

Answer 1

Assuming you have access to the equivalent of doScript, when that is used to run a JavaScript, the final value of the script is returned (coerced to a string? I'm not sure).
Of course, you can always pass information from one place to another by using keyed labels. In my work (I spend most of my time writing scripts for Typefi Publish wherein the same script might get executed at the end of every page as the Typefi Engine composes the document), I often will add a keyed label to the document that passes information from one run of the script to the next. Here's an example (that includes reading the script itself to extract version information from the second line) -- while slightly inefficient, it has the benefit of putting the version info in a defined, easy to find place:
    function registerFirstCall(aDoc, interactive) {
        var scriptFile = getScriptPath();
        var scriptName = scriptFile.name;
        if (aDoc.extractLabel(scriptName) == "" || interactive) {
            scriptFile.open("r");
            var firstLine = scriptFile.readln();
            var secondLine = scriptFile.readln();
            scriptFile.close();
            if (secondLine.indexOf("//VERSION: ") == 0) {
                var msg = secondLine.split("//VERSION: ")[1].split("\n")[0];
            } else {
                var msg = "unknown";
            aDoc.insertLabel(scriptName, "Registered");
            TPSlog(scriptName + " version: " + msg, interactive);
    }// end registerFirstCall
Ah, I see it uses the getScriptPath function, so for completeness, here it is:
    function getScriptPath() {
        // This function returns the path to the active script, even when running ESTK
        try {
            return app.activeScript;
        } catch(e) {
            return File(e.fileName);
        } // end try
    } // end getScriptPath
The TPSlog function either pops up an alert (when working interactively -- usually means during debugging) or adds a log message for the session (that also is managed with a document keyed label). The keyed label in this case is performing the trivial task of recording that the script has previously been run against this document, in which case, it doesn't need to log a message identifying its version info.
Hope this helps.
Dave