Report on Spot Colors, Logging selection (and then using variable name to access that data?)

[dmorgan]

My programming skills are limited, and I'm not sure how to call on data that is logged by certain actions.
Edit: Here's my problem, much shortened:
I've used The Pitstop Action "Report on Spot Colors" to log the selection of the spot colors.
They all start with E.
I want to select the first instance, then do something to it. (that part is unimportant).
Then I need to select the second instance that starts with E..

How would I use a variable expression in "Select Spot Color by Name" to ensure I select the second instance? (I can then deduce how to then target the third instance)

-Dan



HERE'S the MUCH LONGER version:
without getting into too much cruddy detail, here's my example situation:

I have a file with 3 spot colors. I know it has 3 spot colors, and in this situation, it will always have 3 spot colors.

I need to basically fake it and make faux separations out of this, so when the electronic "separations" can be sent to hot folder to impose. (otherwise if I sent the file directly to the RIP, it would output 3 separate films and result in a lot of wasted films.

With the "faux separation" method the operator can just impose the separated pieces into one file, and output one piece of film that will then be cut into the separate dies. There are probably other programs that might be able to do this, but seeing that we are severely downsizing (and that includes my job soon, too... ) We will not be purchasing additional software..

I see a Pitstop action called "report on spot colors" that goes like this:
Select all
Select all spot colors
Log Selection

Now I want to use a variable name to call on the first spot color and remap, then the second spot color and remap...

In the company's workflow, conveniently all the spot colors will have the same prefix, i.e. "ERED; EBLK; EGLD" (the last 3 letters can vary, this is for my example, but the E will always be constant)

So now I'm up to the point where I want to:
Select spot color (by name) and I think I need to enable a variable names there -> but how would the would I write the expression to select the first color?

Then I would have a second and third similar action where I would select the second instance that started with E and remap, then the third..
and so on, until I was done remapping.

(for 3 colors, I would have already provided 3 files to separate flows, knowing how many color separations needed to be done, so on one path in Switch I could apply the action that would make color1 0/0/0/100, color 2 and 3 0/0/0/0 (which would effectively make it invisible). The second path would make color 1 and 3 0/0/0/0, and color 2 0/0/0/100)


Sorry for the length.. I don't know how to be more concise with the task I'm trying to handle.
-Dan

[abailescollins]

If you are trying this in stand-alone PitStop Server/PitStop Pro there is no way to do this the way you are trying to do it.
With Switch it becomes possible, but from your thread I don't think you have that?

I can see what you are trying to do. Would it work if you were able to select all Spot Colors in a PDF with names that start with "E" and map them to one separation?