Adobe InDesign CC 2015 - Manual (Page 631)

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Automation
Last updated 6/6/2015
You cannot insert a line break within a field in the data source file. If it’s necessary to split a field across different lines,
create two different fields, such as <> and <>.
You can choose Remove Blank Lines For Empty Fields when merging the document to prevent empty lines. However,
if any characters, including spaces, appear on the line, the line is not deleted.
Add image fields in the data source file
By adding image fields to the data source file, you can allow a different image to appear on each merged record. For
example, when you merge documents that include information from various companies, you can include an image of
each company’s logo as part of the merge.
1 Open the data source file.
2 At the beginning of the data field name, type an “at” symbol (@) to insert text or paths that refer to image files.
The @ symbol is required only in the first line; subsequent lines should include the image paths. Paths, which are
case-sensitive, must follow the naming conventions of the operating system in which they’re stored.
If you get an error message when you type the @ symbol at the beginning of the field, type an apostrophe (') before
the @ symbol (such as
'@Photos) to validate the function. Some applications, such as Microsoft Excel, reserve the @
symbol for functions.
(Windows) Example of image references in data source file
(Mac OS) Example of image references in data source file
You can use InDesign to view the path of an image on your operating system. Insert an image in an InDesign document,
and then use the Links panel to view the image’s location. With the image selected, choose Copy Info > Copy Full Path
from the Links panel menu. You may need to edit the path after you paste it in your data source. This technique is especially
useful for images on a server.
About target documents
Once your data source file is created, you need to set up the target document and insert the fields from the data source
file. The target document contains data-field placeholder text and graphics, such as the design that you want to appear
on every postcard. These fields become available to add after you select a data source.
Name Age @Photos
Bill Tucker 36 C:\Photos\BillTucker.jpg
Dat Nguyen 53 C:\MyDocuments\dat.gif
Maria Ruiz 26 C:\Photos\Ruiz.psd
Name Age @Photos
Bill Tucker 36 Mac HD:Photos:BillTucker.jpg
Dat Nguyen 53 Desktop:Family:dat.gif
Maria Ruiz 26 Mac HD:Photos:Ruiz.psd