Illustrator JavaScript Object Model Quick Reference

April 28, 2026 · View on GitHub

Containment Hierarchy

Application (app)
 └─ Document
     ├─ Layer
     │   ├─ pathItems[]        → PathItem → PathPoint[]
     │   ├─ compoundPathItems[] → CompoundPathItem
     │   ├─ textFrames[]       → TextFrame
     │   │   ├─ characters[]   → TextRange (single char)
     │   │   ├─ words[]        → TextRange (word)
     │   │   ├─ paragraphs[]   → TextRange (paragraph)
     │   │   ├─ lines[]        → TextRange (line)
     │   │   └─ insertionPoints[]
     │   ├─ placedItems[]      → PlacedItem
     │   ├─ rasterItems[]      → RasterItem
     │   ├─ meshItems[]        → MeshItem
     │   ├─ pluginItems[]      → PluginItem
     │   ├─ graphItems[]       → GraphItem
     │   ├─ symbolItems[]      → SymbolItem → Symbol
     │   ├─ groupItems[]       → GroupItem (recursive pageItems)
     │   ├─ nonNativeItems[]   → NonNativeItem
     │   └─ legacyTextItems[]  → LegacyTextItem
     ├─ Artboard[]
     ├─ Swatch[] / Spot[] / Gradient[] / Pattern[]
     ├─ GraphicStyle[] / Brush[] / Symbol[]
     ├─ Story[]
     ├─ CharacterStyle[] / ParagraphStyle[]
     ├─ Variable[] / Dataset[]
     └─ View[]

Artwork Item Types (pageItems members)

Type	typename	Collection	Notes
Path	`PathItem`	`pathItems`	Lines, shapes, freeform paths
Compound path	`CompoundPathItem`	`compoundPathItems`	Multiple paths combined
Group	`GroupItem`	`groupItems`	Contains nested pageItems
Text frame	`TextFrame`	`textFrames`	Point, area, or path text
Placed image	`PlacedItem`	`placedItems`	Linked external files
Raster image	`RasterItem`	`rasterItems`	Embedded bitmaps
Mesh	`MeshItem`	`meshItems`	Gradient mesh objects
Graph	`GraphItem`	`graphItems`	Chart/graph objects
Plugin item	`PluginItem`	`pluginItems`	Plugin-generated art
Symbol instance	`SymbolItem`	`symbolItems`	Instance of a Symbol
Non-native	`NonNativeItem`	`nonNativeItems`	Foreign objects
Legacy text	`LegacyTextItem`	`legacyTextItems`	Pre-CS text objects

Color Object Types

Object	Color Space	Value Range	Notes
`RGBColor`	RGB	0-255 per channel	`.red`, `.green`, `.blue`
`CMYKColor`	CMYK	0-100 per channel	`.cyan`, `.magenta`, `.yellow`, `.black`
`GrayColor`	Grayscale	0-100	`.gray` (0=black, 100=white)
`LabColor`	Lab	L: 0-100, a/b: -128 to 127	`.l`, `.a`, `.b`
`SpotColor`	Spot	tint 0-100	`.spot`, `.tint`
`PatternColor`	Pattern	-	`.pattern`, `.matrix`
`GradientColor`	Gradient	-	`.gradient`, `.origin`, `.angle`
`NoColor`	None	-	Transparent/no fill

Common Scripting Constants

Document and Color

DocumentColorSpace.RGB / .CMYK

Text

Justification.LEFT / .CENTER / .RIGHT / .FULLJUSTIFY / .FULLJUSTIFYLASTLINELEFT / .FULLJUSTIFYLASTLINECENTER / .FULLJUSTIFYLASTLINERIGHT
TextType.POINTTEXT / .AREATEXT / .PATHTEXT
FontBaselineOption.NORMALBASELINE / .SUPERSCRIPT / .SUBSCRIPT

Paths

PointType.SMOOTH / .CORNER
StrokeCap.BUTTENDCAP / .ROUNDENDCAP / .PROJECTINGENDCAP
StrokeJoin.MITERENDJOIN / .ROUNDENDJOIN / .BEVELENDJOIN

Transformations

Transformation.DOCUMENTORIGIN / .BOTTOM / .BOTTOMLEFT / .BOTTOMRIGHT / .CENTER / .LEFT / .RIGHT / .TOP / .TOPLEFT / .TOPRIGHT

Blend Modes

BlendModes.NORMAL / .MULTIPLY / .SCREEN / .OVERLAY / .SOFTLIGHT / .HARDLIGHT / .COLORDODGE / .COLORBURN / .DARKEN / .LIGHTEN / .DIFFERENCE / .EXCLUSION / .HUE / .SATURATIONBLEND / .COLORBLEND / .LUMINOSITY

Element Placement

ElementPlacement.PLACEATBEGINNING / .PLACEATEND / .PLACEBEFORE / .PLACEAFTER / .INSIDE

Z-Order

ZOrderMethod.BRINGTOFRONT / .SENDTOBACK / .BRINGFORWARD / .SENDBACKWARD

Save/Export

SaveOptions.SAVECHANGES / .DONOTSAVECHANGES / .PROMPTTOSAVECHANGES
ExportType.PNG24 / .PNG8 / .JPEG / .SVG / .TIFF / .PHOTOSHOP / .AUTOCAD / .FLASH / .GIF
Compatibility.ILLUSTRATOR8 through .ILLUSTRATOR24
PDFCompatibility.ACROBAT4 through .ACROBAT8

Gradient

GradientType.LINEAR / .RADIAL

Variables

VariableKind.TEXTUAL / .IMAGE / .VISIBILITY / .GRAPH

User Interaction

UserInteractionLevel.DISPLAYALERTS / .DONTDISPLAYALERTS

Print

PrintArtworkDesignation.ALLLAYERS / .VISIBLELAYERS / .VISIBLEPRINTABLELAYERS

Unit Conversions

From	To Points	Formula
Inches	Points	`inches * 72`
Centimeters	Points	`cm * 28.346`
Millimeters	Points	`mm * 2.834645`
Picas	Points	`picas * 12`
Em units	Points	`(emUnits * fontSize) / 1000`