Script launcher with history list
In InDesign you run a script by double-clicking its name in the Script palette. The trouble with that palette is that it shows just one column in tiny type. On my screen that means 47 scripts and I have to press my nose to the screen to be able to read the names. To see more scripts I need to scroll down the list, then click. All this is tedious.
Another thing is that of the many scripts in my script folder, in any session of work I use maybe half a dozen scripts often. Time, therefore, for a script launcher with a history list that shows the last-run script on top of that history list.
Use
Assign the script to a shortcut. Press that key and the script displays an entry field and a dropdown. (The first time you run the script launcher there is no history list but it will create an empty one.) To launch a script, type its name in the edit field (no need to type the .jsx extension) or pick it from the dropdown. (You can also press Tab to move to the drop-down and type the first letter of the script's name to get close.)
The next time you fire up the script launcher, the name of the last-run script is in the dropdown field. Just press Enter/Return to launch it. To pick another recently run script, press Tab to move to the drop-down and type the first letter of its name; nine times out of ten the script's name shows it the edit field; press Enter/Return to run it.
The history list is a small file (runscript-last.txt) which is kept in the script folder. To change the number of entries in the history list, edit the script and change the default, 14, to any other value, then delete the history file.
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