Select by Font

Script for Adobe Illustrator

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Overview

Select by Font is a powerful and easy-to-use script designed to streamline your workflow in Adobe Illustrator. It enables precise selection of text frames based on specific font families and styles, saving you time and effort, especially in documents with extensive typography.

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Key Features

• Precision and Speed:
  Easily locate and select text elements with specific fonts without manually checking each text frame.
  
  
• User-Friendly Interface:
  The interactive dialog makes it simple to browse font families and styles  used in your document, choose search scopes, and apply selections.
  
  
• Flexible Search Options:
  Whether you’re editing the entire document or working on a specific artboard or layer, the script gives you full control over your selection.
  
  
• Real-Time Feedback:
  Know exactly how many text frames match your criteria after each selection.

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Install and Run the Script

• Place the script file in your Adobe Illustrator Scripts folder:
  
  MacOS: /Applications/Adobe Illustrator <Version>/Presets/<Language>/Scripts
  Windows: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator <Version>\Presets\<Language>\Scripts
  
  
• Restart Adobe Illustrator to load the script into the File > Scripts menu.
• Open your document and go to File > Scripts > Select by Font to launch the script.
• The Select by Font dialog window will appear.

Using the Dialog Window

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➊ Choose Search Scope

The 'Search in:' dropdown menu in the Select by Font script provides users with a flexible way to define the scope of their search for text frames. By narrowing down where the script looks for matching text elements, users can ensure precise and efficient font-based selections.

In the 'Search in:' dropdown menu, select the desired search scope:

1. Active Document

• Scope: Searches all text frames across the entire Illustrator document, regardless of their layer or artboard.
• Use Case: Ideal when you need to find and select all instances of a specific font family or style throughout the document.

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2. Active Selection

• Scope: Limits the search to the currently selected objects in your document.
• Use Case: Best for focusing on a pre-selected group of items, such as a collection of text frames or grouped elements.

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3. Active Layer

• Scope: Searches only within the currently active layer.
• Use Case: Useful when organizing or editing text on a specific layer without affecting other parts of the design.

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4. Active Artboard

• Scope: Restricts the search to text frames located within the active artboard’s boundaries.
• Use Case: Perfect for working on designs spread across multiple artboards, ensuring changes apply only to the current artboard.

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➋ Browse Font Families and Styles

Select by Font script serves as an interactive interface for browsing and selecting font families and styles used within an Adobe Illustrator document. The font list provides users with a clear and organized way to view and interact with the fonts present in their project.

Key Features of the Font List

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1. Displays Font Families and Styles

• Lists all unique font families detected in the document.
• Each font family can be expanded to show its available styles (e.g., Light, Regular, Bold).

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2. Expand and Collapse Font Families

• Expand: Click the arrow next to a font family to reveal its styles.
• Collapse: Click the arrow again to hide the styles under that family.
• Quick Expand All: Use the expand icon to open all font families at once.

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3. Selection Options

• Font Family Selection: Click a font family to highlight it.
  Double-click a font family to select all text frames using that family, regardless of style.
• Font Style Selection: Expand a font family, click on a specific style, and press the Select button to isolate text frames using that exact style.

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➌ Apply Selection

The Select button is the script’s final step for applying font-based filters to your document, ensuring efficient and accurate typography management in Adobe Illustrator.

• Click the 'Select' button to activate the selection process based on the scope and font family or style you specified in the dialog.
• The script highlights all text frames matching your selection in the chosen scope.
• A notification appears, indicating the number of matching text frames found.

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ⓘ Note: Hidden, locked, or non-matching items are ignored, ensuring only relevant text frames are selected.

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☻ Additional Features

In addition to its core functionality, the Select by Font script includes several user-friendly features that enhance the overall experience and usability.

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🅰 Resizable Window

• The dialog window is resizable, allowing users to adjust its dimensions as needed.
• Drag the edges or corners of the dialog window to resize it.

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🅱 Expand All Font Families

• A dedicated button ☰ expands all font families in the font list with a single click.
• This is particularly useful when you need a complete overview of all fonts and styles used in the document.

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🅲 Close Button

• Clicking the Close button immediately terminates the script and returns the user to the Illustrator workspace.
• No changes are applied to the document if the Select button was not clicked.

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The Select by Font script is an essential tool for anyone working with typography in Adobe Illustrator. By offering precise font-based selection, customizable search scopes, and an intuitive interface, this script simplifies managing text in even the most complex documents.

Start using Select by Font today and take control of your typography workflow in Adobe Illustrator with ease and precision! 

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