Tools Methods
Tools Methods are guided editors for individual Darty operations. Choose a method, configure its targets and options, apply it directly in Illustrator, or capture the configuration as a reusable Darty sheet row without memorizing property names and serialized values.
Each Tools Method focuses on one operation, such as Align, Appearance, Barcode, Duplicate, Place, Text, or Transform. The pages nested beneath Tools Methods in the documentation sidebar cover the available method editors.
Tools Methods, Builder, and the Methods Reference
These three documentation and interface areas serve different purposes.
| Area | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Tools Methods | Configure and test one operation, apply it immediately, and build a preview containing rows for that method. |
| Builder | Construct or revise a complete multi-method Darty sheet with shared headers and multiple data records. |
| Methods Reference | Look up accepted method names, properties, valid values, defaults, and spreadsheet examples. |
A row created in a Tools Method is not automatically inserted into Builder or Data. Copy or download the method preview when you need a standalone sheet, or recreate and combine the required method blocks in Builder.
Choose a Method
Open the Tools tab and select a method from the Methods group in the navigation.
- Use the Method filter to narrow the navigation by method name.
- Expand the Methods group if it is collapsed.
- At narrow panel widths, hover an icon to see its method name.
- Return to a previously opened method to continue with its in-progress controls and preview during the current extension session.
Darty remembers the last tool explicitly selected and can restore that tool the next time the extension opens. The selected method is remembered more broadly than its working values, so use a saved table when the configuration itself must be reusable.
See Tools Tab for the navigation layout, responsive behavior, and full method inventory.
Shared Method Workspace
Most Tools Methods use the same five-part workspace.
| Area | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Method header | Shows the method name, description, busy or warning status, and a help control that opens its Methods Reference page. |
| Options or method tabs | Organize targeting, source, geometry, appearance, output, and other method-specific controls. |
| Status message | Reports ready, validation, dispatch, warning, or error information. |
| Table tab | Shows the Darty header and rows captured from this method's current configuration. |
| Action bar | Provides Reset, Add Row, Apply, and any supported selection, document, generation, or Continue actions. |
The exact tab names depend on the method. A standard method commonly has an options tab and Table. More specialized editors, particularly Appearance, Graphic Style, and Barcode, divide their controls across additional tabs.
Basic Tools Method Workflow
1. Select the Method
Choose the operation you want to configure. The method opens with its default values and an empty preview table.
2. Choose the Target or Source
Enter the tag search or other source fields required by the method. Some methods can also derive a target from the current Illustrator selection, document, layer, artboard, swatch, or external file.
Tag-search values become part of the generated Darty row. Direct selection and document actions are temporary execution modes and behave differently from stored tag targeting.
See Darty Tags for tag-search syntax.
3. Configure the Options
Set only the values needed for the operation. Blank optional fields and Unset tri-state controls are normally omitted from the generated row, while True and False are explicit instructions. Each individual editor guide explains its visible controls, generated properties, conditional fields, and method-specific validation.
4. Add or Apply the Configuration
Choose the action that matches your intent.
| Action | Changes Illustrator | Updates the method table |
|---|---|---|
| Add Row | No | Yes |
| Apply | Yes | Yes |
| Apply to Selection | Yes, using the current selection | No |
| Apply to Document | Yes, using the active document | No |
| Reset | No | Restores the method's starting state and clears its working preview |
Not every method offers both secondary apply modes. Labels and available actions follow what that method can target safely. See Tools Method Actions and Apply Modes before applying an unfamiliar operation to live artwork.
5. Review the Result
Watch the status message for completion, warnings, or errors. When a method is waiting for Illustrator to respond, a Continue action can stop waiting in the extension even though the Illustrator operation may still finish.
Open Table to inspect the exact Darty header and captured row values.
Targeting Artwork
Tools Methods commonly provide more than one targeting route.
Stored Tag Search
A tag search is saved in the generated method row and can be reused later from a spreadsheet. It is the normal choice when the same Darty table must run against tagged artwork repeatedly.
Apply to Selection
When available, Apply to Selection operates on the artwork currently selected in Illustrator. It ignores the tag target entered in the interface for that dispatch and does not add or replace a row in the method table.
Use this mode to test a configuration or perform a one-time operation without preparing tags first.
Apply to Document
Methods that operate at document scope can offer Apply to Document. This dispatches the current configuration without updating the method table.
The available secondary action is method-specific. Do not assume a selection-oriented method also supports document-wide application.
Table Preview
The Table tab is an in-memory sheet preview for the currently selected Tools Method. It includes the four Darty header rows and any captured data rows.
From the preview you can generally:
- Choose whether a new row appends to or replaces the current preview.
- Edit, reorder, delete, or dispatch an individual captured row.
- Copy the complete preview table to the clipboard.
- Download the preview as CSV or Excel.
- Choose whether Add Row or Apply automatically focuses the Table tab.
The preview belongs to that method's working session. It is not a saved file and is not the complete Builder table unless you intentionally combine it with other method blocks.
See Tools Method Table Preview for row editing, append behavior, dispatch, copying, and downloads.
Method Families and Specialized Editors
Although the shared workflow is consistent, some entries have specialized behavior.
| Type | Notes |
|---|---|
| Configured methods | Methods such as Align, Duplicate, Place, Text, and Transform expose grouped method-specific options plus the shared Table and action workflow. |
| Simple methods | Methods such as Group, Ungroup, Comment, Outline, Reduce, Remove, Clean, and Color Mode use fewer controls while retaining the same row and apply concepts. |
| Method groups | Tags and Swatches provide related operations within one Tools entry. The selected operation determines the generated method row. |
| Appearance and Graphic Style | Share a visual editor for paints, effects, opacity, and appearance-related fields. |
| Barcode | Adds format-specific data, validation, preview, text, parts, placement, and appearance controls. |
Read the Appearance Tool, Graphic Style Tool, and Barcode Tool for those specialized interfaces.
Choosing the Right Workflow
Use a Tools Method when you want to:
- Discover the supported controls for one operation.
- Test an operation against selected, tagged, or document-level content.
- Produce one or more reusable rows for the same method.
- Inspect the Darty values generated by interface controls.
Use Builder when you want to:
- Combine multiple methods into one execution sequence.
- Edit shared headers, defaults, labels, and multiple records.
- Open an existing local or Google-hosted Darty table.
- Load a completed multi-method table into Data.