Adobe InDesign CS5 - Manual (Page 659)

653 USING INDESIGN
Automation
Last updated 11/16/2011
5. Insert fields from the Data Merge panel into the target document.
You can add data fields to either a document page or a master page. If you add data fields to a master page, you have
additional options.
For more information, see “ Insert data fields ” on page 655 and “ Adding data field placeholders to master pages ” on
page 656.
6. Preview the records to make sure that the target document will look the way you intend.
For more information, see “ Preview records in the target document ” on page 656.
7. Merge the target document with the data source file, or export to PDF.
For more information, see “ Merge records ” on page 658.
About data source files
The data source typically originates from a spreadsheet or database application, but you can create your own data
source file using InDesign or any text editor. Data source files should be saved in a comma-delimited (.csv) or tab-
delimited (.txt) text format. Check your source application’s user guide for more information on exporting to these
formats.
In a comma- or tab-delimited text file, records are separated by paragraph breaks; fields are separated by commas or
tabs. The data source file can also include text or paths that refer to images on disk.
Example of comma-delimited data source file
Name,Company Name,State
Bill Tucker,CoreVent Labs,Nevada
Dat Nguyen,"Brady, Hunt, and Baxter, Inc",Delaware
Maria Ruiz,"Brinquist Enterprises, Inc.",California
If you want to include a comma or quotation mark in a comma-delimited file, enclose the text within quotation
marks, such as “Brady, Hunt, and Baxter, Inc.”. If you do not include the quotation marks, each name is treated as a
separate field.
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 may want to 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.