Select Text Frames by Matching Content
Script for Adobe Illustrator
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Overview
The Select Text Frames by Matching Content is an Adobe Illustrator script designed to help users search for and select text frames containing specific text within an Illustrator document. This powerful tool is ideal for designers who need to quickly locate and manage text in complex Illustrator files, enhancing workflow efficiency and accuracy.
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Installation
- Place the script in your 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.
- Go to File > Scripts > Select Text Frames by Matching Content to launch the script.
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How to Use the Script
- When the script runs, a dialog window will appear with several settings:
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➊ Specify the Search Scope
The Search Scope menu in the script allows users to specify where the text search will be performed within the Illustrator document. This ensures flexibility in targeting specific areas for text selection, optimizing performance and precision.
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Active Document
- Searches all text frames in the entire document.
- Best for finding text across multiple layers and artboards.
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Active Selection
- Searches only within selected objects.
- Useful for narrowing searches to a specific group of text frames.
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Active Artboard
- Searches text only within the currently active artboard.
- Ideal for projects with multiple artboards where text needs to be located on a specific one.
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Active Layer
- Searches only within the currently active layer.
- Useful for layer-specific text searches, especially in organized multi-layered designs.
➋ Enter Text to Search For
The ‘Text to Search For:’ input field allows users to enter specific words or phrases to search for within text frames in active Adobe Illustrator document. This feature helps quickly locate and select text frames containing the specified content, making text management more efficient.
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- Type a word, phrase, or multiple words into the input field.
- The script will search for this exact text across text frames.
- The input field is scrollable and resizable, allowing users to enter longer text strings.
- The OK button remains disabled until at least one character is entered.
- The entered text will be searched based on the selected scope (e.g., active document, selection, artboard, or layer).
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➌ Enable Checkboxes (optional)
The Select Text Frames by Matching Content script includes two checkboxes that refine how text is searched within text frames. These options help customize search behavior for more accurate results.
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3.1 Case-Sensitive Search
Useful for finding brand names, acronyms, or text with specific capitalization rules.
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- When enabled: the search will distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters.
- When disabled: the search will ignore capitalization, treating uppercase and lowercase letters as the same.
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Example: Searching for “Design”
- Case-Sensitive ON: Finds only “Design”, but NOT “design” or “DESIGN”.
- Case-Sensitive OFF: Finds “Design”, “design”, “DESIGN”, etc.
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3.2 Exact Match Search
Useful for precise text searches where partial matches are unwanted.
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- When enabled: only text frames that exactly match the entered text will be selected.
- When disabled: the script will find partial matches as well.
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Example: Searching for “Hello”
- Exact Match ON: Finds “Hello” but NOT “Hello World!”.
- Exact Match OFF: Finds “Hello”, “Hello World”, and “Helloween” etc.
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➍ Click OK to Start Searching
The OK button in the Select Text Frames by Matching Content script serves as the trigger to start the search based on the specified criteria.
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- OK button remains inactive until the user enters at least one character in the “Text to Search For:” field.
- When clicked, the script searches for text frames that match:
• The entered text
• The selected search scope (Active Document, Selection, Artboard, or Layer)
• The checkbox options (Case-Sensitive & Exact Match)
- The script processes the document, and a progress bar updates the search status in real time.
- Matching text frames are selected automatically.
- A confirmation message appears, showing the number of matching frames found.
- The script adjusts the view to zoom and focus on selected items.
➎ Additional Features
The Select Text Frames by Matching Content script includes several additional features to improve usability and flexibility.
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🅰 Resizable Dialog Window
- The script dialog box is fully resizable, allowing users to adjust its size for better visibility and convenience.
- Click and drag the edges or corners of the dialog box to resize it.
- Expanding the window helps when viewing long text input or adjusting settings.
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🅱 Select All Empty Text Frames
- Click this button to automatically select all empty text frames in the document.
- Empty text frames are those that contain no characters or only whitespace.
- Helps clean up unnecessary text frames to keep your document organized.
- Locked or hidden text frames will not be selected.
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🅲 Select All 'Lorem Ipsum' Text Frames
- Click this button to find and select all text frames containing placeholder text, such as “Lorem Ipsum”.
- Useful for identifying and replacing sample text in design projects.
- Searches for common placeholder phrases used in typography and layout design.
- Locked or hidden text frames will not be selected unless unlocked manually.
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🅳 Cancel Button
- Click Cancel to close the dialog box without performing a search.
- Allows users to exit the script without making any changes.
- No selections or actions will be applied when clicking this button.
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🅴 Open User Guide
- Clicking this icon opens the official user guide for the script.
- Click the ⏼ icon (located in the bottom-right of the dialog box).
- A web browser will open the script’s official user guide.
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Additional Notes
- The script performance can be slower in large files with many text frames.
- Locked or hidden layers will not be searched.
- Unlock or make visible all text frames before running the script to ensure maximum selection.
- If you’re working with a large or complex Illustrator file, it’s highly recommended to save your document before running the script.
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☻ Conclusion
The Select Text Frames by Matching Content script streamlines text search and selection in Illustrator, allowing users to quickly locate specific text frames based on a given word or phrase. Whether you’re working on logos, layouts, or complex documents, this tool helps you find and manage text efficiently, improving workflow speed and precision.
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