Script for Adobe Illustrator

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Description

Text Splitter is a powerful Adobe Illustrator script that allows you to split text frames into individual lines, words, or characters. This tool is essential for designers working with text animations, kinetic typography, or any project requiring granular control over text elements.

The script intelligently handles text alignment, positioning, and formatting while splitting, ensuring that your text maintains its original appearance and layout. It supports both individual text frames and multiple selections, with an option to keep split elements grouped for easier management.

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Key Features

• Four splitting modes: Lines, Words, Characters, or Paragraphs
• Smart positioning: Maintains original text alignment and position
• Batch processing: Split multiple text frames at once
• Grouping option: Keep split text frames organized in groups
• Alignment preservation: Respects left, center, right, and justified text
• Point text conversion: Automatically converts area text to point text
• Z-order preservation: Maintains layer stacking order after splitting

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Installation

1. Download the Text Splitter.jsx script file.

2. Place the script in your Adobe Illustrator Scripts folder:

⮑ Mac: /Applications/Adobe Illustrator <Version>/Presets/<Language>/Scripts

⮑ Windows: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator <Version>\Presets\<Language>\Scripts

3. Restart Adobe Illustrator if it's already running

4. Access the script via File > Scripts > Text Splitter

5. Alternatively, run it directly via File > Scripts > Other Script... and browse to the file location

Tip: You can also drag and drop the .jsx file directly onto the Illustrator workspace to run the script instantly – no installation needed.

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Using the Script

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➊ Prepare Your Document

1. Open an Adobe Illustrator document
2. Create or select text frames you want to split
3. Ensure your text is formatted as desired (font, size, alignment, etc.)

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➋ Select Text

• Select one or more text frames using the Selection Tool (V)
• You can select multiple text frames to split them all at once
• The script works with text inside groups as well

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➌  Run the Script

1. Go to File > Scripts > Text Splitter (or Other Script... if not installed)
2. The Text Splitter dialog will appear:

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➍ Choose Split Mode

Select one of four splitting options:

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Characters: Splits text into individual characters

• Every character becomes a separate text frame
• Great for letter-by-letter effects
• Maintains character spacing

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Words: Splits text into individual words

• Each word becomes its own text frame
• Preserves spacing and punctuation
• Ideal for word-by-word animations

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Lines: Splits text into separate text frames for each line

• Perfect for creating line-by-line animations
• Maintains line breaks and paragraph structure

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Paragraphs: Splits text into separate text frames for each paragraph

• Intelligently preserves multi-line blocks of text
• Handles both Area Text and Point Text with advanced paragraph detection
• Perfect for managing complex text layouts and long-form content

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➎ Configure Grouping

Keep split text frames grouped:

• When enabled, all split parts from each original text frame are grouped together
• Makes it easier to manage and organize split text
• Preserves the relationship between split elements
• Uncheck if you want all text frames to remain ungrouped

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➏ Execute

1. Click OK to apply the split
2. The script will process your selection
3. A confirmation message shows how many new text frames were created
4. Click Cancel to close the dialog without making changes

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Zoom to Selection Button (➕)

• Located between Cancel and OK buttons
• Instantly zooms the view to fit your current selection
• Useful for previewing results before splitting
• Helps focus on specific text areas in large documents

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Text Splitter is designed to streamline your Typography workflow by handling the technical complexities of text manipulation.

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