The new version now has the “Apply to” and “Ignore locked layers” as shown in the image below.

Note that any warning messages about having too few textframes selected have been delayed until after the dialog box appears to reflect the new options.

Downloads of the new version are available on the original post.

Want a good way to move your extension request to the top of the list?

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BREAKING NEWS (12/6/08): I noticed that the new Kuler extension for Flash CS4 has an “add to swatches” button, and it actually adds swatches to the swatches panel. After some decompiling and a lot of detective work, I found an undocumented JSFL call that was added to CS4. The feature is undocumented for a reason: it sends encoded XML data, and if the data is faulty, it crashes Flash. I have a few test cases working and I’m confident that I can add it to this extension, so the swatches will go right in the Flash swatches panel, rather than onto the stage, though it will only work in CS4. Be on the lookout for an update in the next few days.

UPDATE (12/7/08): Updated to version 1.1.0. If you have Flash CS4, the swatches will now go right into your Flash Swatches panel. Hooray!
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There does seem to be a lot usefulness to such an extension, since XFL creates a new workflow between InDesign and Flash, and the Illustrator importer for Flash is fantastic, but neither one loads any of the swatches from the original document. I’ve certainly spent my fair share of time opening up the swatch properties, making sure the swatch is RGB or hex and copying all three fields one at a time.

So, I decided to plow ahead and see what I could come up with. The results are below. This extension takes the swatches from your current InDesign or Illustrator document and sends them to a new layer on the Flash stage. You can then use the eyedropper to pick up the colors, or you can add them to your swatches panel individually (similar to this demo of the Kuler panel).
UPDATE (12/7/08): If you have Flash CS4, you can skip the step above. Version 1.1.0 of this extension will send the Illustrator or InDesign swatches right to your swatches panel in Flash.

This extension will transfer spot and process colors of all varieties (RGB, CMYK, LAB, HSB). Rather than converting the CMYK with my own function, I used the applications themselves to convert the colors to RGB for Flash, so the transfer fidelity is quite good. It will ignore gradients, tints, patterns and fancy stuff like that. If you want to get your gradients into Flash see the bonus tip below.

InDesign to Flash CS4

Or, here’s what InDesign to Flash CS3 would look like.

Illustrator to Flash CS4

Or, here’s what Illustrator to Flash CS3 would look like.

Downloads and more below the fold.

Downloads

• Send Swatches to Flash.jsx (CS3, CS4)
• Send Swatches to Flash (ID).mxp (CS4)
  
• Send Swatches to Flash (AI).mxp (CS4-US only)

Installation

JSX file:

1. Place the JSX file into the appropriate directory:

InDesign CS3/CS4 > {application directory**}/Scripts/Scripts Panel
Illustrator CS3 >  {application directory**}/Presets/Scripts
Illustrator CS4 >  {application directory**}/Presets/{language/region}/Scripts

**Application Directories:
Windows > C:\Program Files\Adobe\{application name + version}\
Mac OS X > Applications/{application name + version}/

MXP file (CS4 only):

1. Double-click on the MXP file to install using Adobe Extension Manager CS4.

Usage

InDesign: make sure the scripts panel is open, Windows > Automation > Scripts, locate the Send Swatches to Flash.jsx script and double-click to run the script. If you installed the script using the MXP file, the script with be in the Ajar Productions subfolder.

Illustrator: Select Send Swatches to Flash from the File > Scripts menu.

Bonus Tip: Transferring Gradients

You can get a gradient from Illustrator to Flash by applying the gradient to a rectangle, copying the rectangle and pasting into Flash (CS3 or later). A dialog box will appear in Flash, make sure “Paste using AI File Importer preferences” is selected and it will retain you vector artwork, including the gradient! To get the gradient from InDesign to Flash, create the rectangle with the gradient in InDesign, copy and paste it into Illustrator, then copy and paste it into Flash using the instructions in the previous sentence.

FYI

I’ve added a donate button to the bottom of the navigation on the right-hand side of the page. If you’d like to help us spend more time making stuff that we can share with you, you’re welcome to leave a tip. Paypal is not required to donate. Donations are not tax deductible.

I used David Van Brink’s Omino Dialog Maker code again for the dialog box in this extension.

download and instructions below the fold…

Download

• MergeTextframes_ID.jsx (CS2, CS3, CS4, CS5)
• MergeTextframes_ID.mxp (CS4, CS5)

Installation

JSX or JS file:

1. Place the MergeTextframes_ID.jsx into the Scripts Panel directory within your InDesign application directory:

Script Panel directory:
CS3/CS4 > {application directory**}/Scripts/Scripts Panel
CS/CS2 > {application directory**}/Presets/Scripts/Scripts Panel

**Application Directories:
Windows > C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign {version}\
Mac OS X > Applications/Adobe InDesign {version}/

MXP file (CS4 only):

1. Double-click on the MXP file to install using Adobe Extension Manager CS4.

Usage

Select the textframes you want to merge in InDesign.

Open the scripts panel, Windows > Automation (or Utilities in CS5) > Scripts.

Locate the MergeTextframes_ID.jsx script in the Scripts Panel and double-click to run the script. If you installed the script using the MXP file, the script with be in the Ajar Productions subfolder. If you’re running InDesign CS3 or CS4 you will be prompted with a dialog box. The dialog box will allow you to select the orientation of the sorting (top, left, bottom, right), use a custom separator character(s), and select options to fit the merged textframe once complete.

Note: This file has not been tested on CS or CS2, as neither of the two were working on my machine for some reason. In CS/CS2, you will not be prompted with a dialog; the script will run using the default settings sorting topmost, then leftmost, with a separator of “[><]“ and no fitting options selected. You can then run a Find and Replace and replace the separator with the characters of your choice. This script will likely run in CS(1), but you may have to change the file extension from .jsx to .js.

Update (3/02/2010):
Version 1.1.0 now has the ability to batch-merge textframes within every page of the current document. I had several requests for something like this (including from a recent donor). Here it is! The download links above have been updated.

The new version now has the “Apply to” and “Ignore locked layers” as shown in the image below.

Note that any warning messages about having too few textframes selected have been delayed until after the dialog box appears to reflect the new options.