Jump to Page in Book Script

InDesign has a really nice shortcut for jumping to a specific page in a document: Control/Command J. Prior to CS3 it activated the page number input area at the bottom of the document window, but a lot of people missed that, so Adobe changed it to a dialog which pops up.

However, when working on book files, this command comes up a bit short. If you want to jump to a specific page which might be in a different file (which might not even be open), there’s no quick way to do it.

We created this script to overcome this shortcoming.

To use the script:

1. Download the script here.
2. Place the script in your Scripts Panel folder.
   The easiest way to find the folder is by opening your scripts panel in InDesign (Window –> Automation –> Scripts) and right clicking on one of the items in the panel. Select open in Finder/Explorer.
3. Run the script.
   To run a script, you just double click on it in the Scripts Panel. We recommend assigning a keyboard shortcut (maybe Alt/Option J) to make running the script easier.
4. This dialog will pop up:
   
5. Type in the page number in your book, and InDesign will take you to that page — even opening the file if it is closed.

Caveats:

• You must type in a number, even if you number your pages with letters.
• The numbers must be absolute numbering from the beginning of your book file. So, if you have front material and the numbering starts a number of pages into the book, you must type in the number starting from the front material — not the start of the numbering.

Posted: July 3rd, 2009 under Scripts.
Tags: InDesign, Scripts

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