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InDesign LPtxt workflow (Mangahanhua scripts)

This doc describes Mangahanhua-Scripts-for-Indesign and how BallonsTranslator’s LPtxt export fits into a translation → InDesign lettering pipeline.

What Mangahanhua-Scripts-for-Indesign is

Repo: jqk4388/Mangahanhua-Scripts-for-Indesign

A suite of Adobe InDesign ExtendScript (JSX) scripts for manga layout and lettering. They run inside InDesign only (not a standalone app). The fork adds scripts aimed at 漫画汉化 (manga sinicization / Chinese localization); the original Manga-Scripts-for-Indesign targeted 日漫英译 (Japanese → English).

  • Install path (example):
    C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\InDesign\Version 20.0-J\zh_CN\Scripts\Scripts Panel
    Or place a shortcut to the repo in that Scripts Panel folder.
  • Dependency: Scripts rely on Library/KTUlib.jsx; keep it next to the scripts (or correctly referenced).
  • Tested: InDesign CC 2025 (and similar versions).

What the scripts do (high level)

Category Examples
Import LabelPlus TXT (LPtxt) → InDesign: places translation text into text frames at coordinates, with optional style matching.
Export ID2LPtxt: export text + coordinates from InDesign back to LPtxt (e.g. for proofreading or re-import elsewhere).
Line-breaking 结巴断句 (jieba), 大模型LLM断句 (LLM-based), for Chinese; EN break-line scripts.
Layout / style Create layers/frames, import styles/composite fonts, apply strokes (白字黑边 etc.), resize, text effects, object styles.
Links / pages Relink images, PSD/TIF swap, page numbers, binding direction.
Export (print/web) 1400 dpi TIF (print), 268 PNG (web), RGB for color pages, etc.

So the main link with BallonsTranslator is: we export LPtxt → you open it in InDesign with their “LabelPlus TXT 导入” script to place and style the translated text.

How the LPtxt format works (and compatibility)

The InDesign script 3.LabelPlus-script-id-UI.jsx (and similar) parses:

  1. Header (optional): e.g. 1,0, -, 框内, 框外, -, 备注备注备注.
  2. Page marker: >>>>>>>>[image_name]<<<<<<<< (one per page).
  3. Block:
    • Line 1: ----------------[block_index]----------------[x,y,group]
    • Line 2+: the translation text (one or more lines).
      Coordinates x,y are normalized 0–1 (fraction of page width/height). group is used for style (e.g. 1 = 框内, 2 = 框外).

BallonsTranslator’s Export translation to LPtxt (File / Tools → Export translation to LPtxt) produces exactly this format:

  • Same header and page markers.
  • Block lines: ----------------[n]----------------[x,y,1] with x = left/total_width, y = top/total_height, then the translation line.
  • Optional font/size info in the text as {字体：...}{字号：...} when “Include font and size info” is checked; the InDesign script can use this for styling.

So our LPtxt is compatible with Mangahanhua’s LPtxt import. No code change in the scripts is required to consume BT’s export.

Recommended workflow: BT → LPtxt → InDesign

  1. Translate in BallonsTranslator
    Open project → Detect → OCR → Translate → (optionally Inpaint/Render).
    Use Format / font as you like; if you want InDesign to match font/size, enable “Include font and size info in the LPtxt output” when exporting.

  2. Export LPtxt from BallonsTranslator

    • File or Tools → Export translation to LPtxt...
    • Choose whether to include font/size info.
    • Output is <project_name>_translations.txt in the project folder (or the path you choose).

  3. InDesign

    • Create or open your InDesign document (page size/layout as needed).
    • Run the Mangahanhua script: LabelPlus TXT 导入 (e.g. “3.LabelPlus-script-id-UI.jsx” or the entry point your bundle uses).
    • In the script UI: select the *_translations.txt file, set single-line vs multi-line mode, page range, and any text replacement / style matching options.
    • Script places text frames at the coordinates and can apply object/paragraph/character styles.

  4. Optional round-trip

    • Use ID2LPtxt (export from InDesign to LPtxt) to send text+coordinates back out for proofreading or for re-use in other tools.

What we do not implement

  • The InDesign scripts themselves cannot run inside BallonsTranslator; they require Adobe InDesign and ExtendScript. We only export LPtxt that their scripts import.
  • We do not run jieba/LLM line-breaking inside InDesign; that stays in their script suite (and optionally in BT for pre-processing before export, if you want).
  • We do not implement their export presets (1400 TIF, 268 PNG, etc.); those remain InDesign-side.

Summary

Item Description
Mangahanhua InDesign JSX suite for manga lettering: LPtxt import, ID2LPtxt export, jieba/LLM line-breaking, styles, links, export.
Our role Produce LPtxt that matches their format so you can Export translation to LPtxt in BT and import that file in InDesign with their scripts.
Compatibility BT’s LPtxt (page markers, ----------------[n]----------------[x,y,1], optional {字体：...}{字号：...}) is compatible with their parser.
Links Mangahanhua-Scripts-for-Indesign, Manga-Scripts-for-Indesign (original).

For related projects and what we adopted from other tools, see RELATED_PROJECTS.md.