Using resolve with toSpecifier() output for quick image previews

Question

Hi there,
I am building an image preview service for in design documents in which a user uploads in design file, we extract custom fields, and display a GUI for the user to enter in custom field values to generate a preview.
One of the features of this is highlighting the contents of the custom field last entered. I have the field highlighting working by checking the "contents" property of various table cell and textframes however I thought by using the elements toSpecifier() value I could pass this in the future to select the element quickly.
However I'm getting an error here.
If I use resolve("/document[@id=170]/page[0]/text-frame[4]") I keep getting back a null value.
Am I not using the toSpecifier() value correctly? Is there another function I need to use to resolve a toSpecifier() string value back into an element on the page? Are you only allowed to use the toSpecifier() output value on the current instance of an indesign script? NOTE: I am saving the toSpecifier() value in the DB and using it in future occassions.
Thanks,
Dustin

Answer 1

They have (sort of), but the scope of the ID is limited to Cells (Cells do not belong to the PageItems Class !) and to the Table they are sitting in.
To address a specific cell in a specific table, you could address the table and the specific cell by its index:
var myCell = mySpecificTable.cells[n];
Or by its ID:
var myCell = mySpecificTable.cells.itemByID(n);
Or by its name:
var myCell = mySpecificTable.cells.itemByName("IndexNumberOfCellInRow:IndexNumberOfRowInTable");
In the case of merged cells over different rows, the number of the index and the ID number of the cell will not match!
Uwe