Add Bleed (InDesign script)

Version 2.3.0 | Author: Sascha Fronczek | saschafronczek.de | License: MIT | free

Video

▶️ Watch on YouTube: Free InDesign script – add missing bleed in one click

What is it for?

Images that run to the edge of the page ("full bleed") have to extend a little beyond the trim edge for printing – the bleed, usually 3 mm (1/8 in). Printers never cut paper exactly; without bleed you get thin white slivers along the edges.

In practice this extra image is often missing: the photo is cropped too tightly, the frame ends exactly at the page edge, or a supplied PDF ad has no bleed. Fixing it by hand is tedious – drag the frame, scale the image, extend the canvas in Photoshop, fill it, place it again.

This script does it in one step: select frames, run the script, pick a method. It reads the bleed from the document setup, detects which edges touch the page edge (1 mm tolerance), leaves the spine of facing pages alone, and adds the missing margin – for one frame or many at once. It works with images as well as placed PDF and AI files.

The Add Bleed script runs in English and German – English by default, German can be chosen in the dialog.

Which method when?

Method	Good for	Result
Scale	images with some room around the subject	image slightly larger, crop shifts a little
Mirror	flat areas, sky, patterns, vector art, PDFs	artwork untouched, edge is mirrored; vectors stay vectors
Fill – content-aware	photos where nothing of the subject may be lost	Photoshop extends the edge to match the image (local, free)
Fill – generative	difficult images where content-aware isn't enough	Photoshop AI invents the edge (experimental, uses credits)

Methods in detail

• Scale: The frame is extended into the bleed. If the image doesn't reach far enough, it is enlarged proportionally around the frame centre – only as much as needed.
• Mirror: Mirrored copies are added as strips (and corners) in the bleed and grouped with the unchanged original.
• Fill (Photoshop): The missing image is added in Photoshop – content-aware (local, free) or generative (experimental: needs internet, uses generative credits and relies on an undocumented Photoshop function, so a Photoshop update can break it at any time – the script then says so and skips the frame instead of failing silently; see Requirements for which script version matches which Photoshop). The result is saved as Name_bleed.psd with layers next to the original and the frame is relinked to it; the original file is never changed. PDF/AI files are rasterised at 300 ppi. If the image already covers the bleed, only the frame is extended.

Everything can be undone in InDesign with a single undo step (created PSD files stay on disk).

Requirements

• Adobe InDesign 2026 (developed and tested on macOS with the German UI). InDesign 2025 and Windows should work but are not tested yet – feedback welcome.
• For "Fill": Adobe Photoshop. Content-aware fill is tested with 27.10, 27.11 and 28.0.1.
• Generative fill depends on your Photoshop version:
  • Photoshop 27.11 or newer – use the current version of the script (tested on 27.11.0 and 28.0.1).
  • Photoshop 27.10 or older – use version 2.2.1 instead. Photoshop changed the parameters of this undocumented command in 27.11, so the two are not interchangeable.
  • Scale, Mirror and content-aware fill work the same in every version, so for those the current script is always the right one.
• Languages: English (default) and German, selectable in the dialog.

Installation

1. Download AddBleed.jsx from Releases.
2. In InDesign open Window > Utilities > Scripts, right-click User > Reveal in Finder (Windows: Reveal in Explorer).
3. Put the file into the Scripts Panel folder that opens.
4. It now appears in the Scripts panel under User.

Tip: you can assign a shortcut under Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts (area "Scripts").

For developers on macOS: ./install.sh symlinks the file from the cloned repository into all Scripts Panel folders it finds.

Usage

Select one or more image frames, double-click the script, choose a method. A summary at the end lists what was processed and what was skipped.

The language can be switched at the bottom of the dialog. The choice is remembered (stored in AddBleed/settings.txt in your user application data folder).

Not supported (skipped and listed): rotated/skewed or non-rectangular frames, frames inside groups or anchored, locked frames. For "Fill" also missing or modified links and graphics that are rotated or flipped inside their frame.

Bugs and ideas

Please use Issues and include your InDesign/Photoshop version, operating system and the text of the summary dialog. The script is free and maintained in spare time, so replies may take a while.

Development

test/run_tests.sh

Drives InDesign 2026 via AppleScript (and Photoshop 2026 via BridgeTalk) and only works with its own hidden test documents. Only content-aware fill is tested automatically – generative fill uses credits and is checked by hand. InDesign is unresponsive while the tests wait for Photoshop.

Write non-ASCII characters in string literals as \uXXXX – ExtendScript reads them incorrectly otherwise (the test runner checks this). Design notes: docs/superpowers/.

License

MIT © 2026 Sascha Fronczek – use at your own risk, no warranty. Adobe, InDesign and Photoshop are trademarks of Adobe Inc.; this project is not affiliated with Adobe.