For example I would name the column for images In this example, I have a folder on my desktop that holds all of the images for the Data Merge named “data_images”. To designate the column as an image column, type a before the name of the column in the first row. In order to add the photos, you need to have a column in the Data Source File where you can enter the exact pathway of the images. The Data Merge function will also allow you to place a different image on each merged record. Now, wherever there is an empty field in your data source file (for the labels you have inserted), the empty space will be eliminated. Click the Remove Blank Lines for Empty Fields. Once you have entered all of the label fields into your text document, highlight the text of your data labels and choose Content Placement Options from the Data Merge panel menu. If a business card has a space for Office, Fax and Cell but some rows only have Office and Cell, you will want the space for the Fax number to be removed. On a document like business cards, you may come across some fields that will not have data to merge in the source data file. Continue replacing the text in the letter with the data labels until you have all the necessary fields replaced.
With the text selected, click the data field you want to replace the highlighted text. Highlight the areas from step three that the data will replace in your letter. This brings in the CSV or TXT file and place the column names into the Data Merge list allowing you to select the label name of the data for your letter. Click the three lines in the upper right hand corner and choose Select Data Source. To import your data source file, choose Window > Utilities > Data Merge to bring up the Data Merge panel. To accommodate for this, make the signature line at the end its own text box and place it far enough away that the body text will not touch it. If all of the text is in one text box the the space for the signature could possibly move up or down depending on the length of the merged text. This can be a problem if you want to place a signature at the end of the letter. If the body of your letter has areas in it that will be merged with the data, like a donation amount for donor letters, be aware that the length of the information you are merging can fluctuate and cause your text to reflow. Design your letter appropriately marking the areas that will include data from the merge with designations like > and > so you can replace them with the merged data. If your letter is two sided, create a two page 8.5x11 document. Step 3: Set Up Your InDesign FileĬreate your form letter as an 8.5x11 page. This will generate a document that has each piece of data separated by a comma or tab depending on the format you save it as. Once you have all the rows and columns adjusted, you need to save the Excel spreadsheet as a comma-delimited file (.csv) or a tab-delimited (.txt) file. You will most likely want your envelope to have the mailing name and address in all caps, but on the form letter you will want the salutation to be in upper and lower case.
If each row is typed in all caps, then the merged document will be in all caps. When checking your Excel spreadsheet and making sure that all labels and rows are correct, how the data is input into each row is how it will show when you merge the document into InDesign. Row one of your spreadsheet should have the labels for each column be sure that each column has a unique label to keep them separate when merging into InDesign. and rows that have the information for each recipient of the form letter and envelope. The data source file is most commonly an Excel spreadsheet set up with columns that have the designated labels for name, salutation, address, etc. Using the same data source file, we can create both the letter and envelope easily. For this example, we will look at an Excel spreadsheet that contains information that needs to be used to create a form letter and envelopes.
Data merge is commonly used for form letters, addresses on envelopes, mailing labels and can even be used for numbering. What Does Data Merge Do?ĭata merge allows you to take an Excel Spreadsheet, with rows and columns of data, and merge those fields into their assigned places in InDesign.
#ADOBE INDESIGN DATA MERGE HOW TO#
In this installment of Learning Adobe InDesign, we take a look at data merge (also known as a mail merge) and how to set up your InDesign document.
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