Adobe InDesign CS3 - Manual (Page 601)

INDESIGN CS3
User Guide
594
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 596 and “Adding data field placeholders to master pages” on
page 597.
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 598.
7. Merge the target document with the data source file.
For more information, see “Merge records” on page 599.
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.
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.
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