InDesign Data merge

Last updated on Oct 27, 2021 | Also applies to Creative Cloud for enterprise

Use InDesign tags and a CSV to generate multiple variations of an input InDesign file.

What is the InDesign Data Merge task

Say you're creating a magazine or a brochure in InDesign. You've created an InDesign layout and you're updating the information for different locales. Or even creating name tags or localized versions of menus. Creating different variations in InDesign can be time consuming and tedious. InDesign Data Merge makes this type of task easy and quick. It allows you to generate different versions of your InDesign project by combining content you organize in a spreadsheet CSV file (that you create on your computer) or a Google sheet.

Learn to:

Run a task
Save a task

Prerequisites

Before you run the task, you'll need to set up your input CSV file (with the required data) and your InDesign file (with the required tags).

1. Create a CSV file

The CSV file must be of a specific structure.

The first line of the file should list all the variables that will be merged. Each subsequent line contains a variation that you want. The values in each cell are the values that are replaced as part of the task.

For text: Simply add the replacement text

For images: Add the name of the image file that you'll upload as part of the task.

For more information, see Basic steps for merging data.

Note:

Image tags start with the @ symbol.

Sample CSV

2. Set up InDesign file

To use Data Merge, you'll need an InDesign file which is set up with data tags. Also, Data Merge uses InDesign tags to identity the objects on the InDesign file to be replaced in each variation. For details, see InDesign Data fields.

Alternatively, while you're selecting your CSV file or Google sheet, we'll also give you the option to match the tags in your InDesign file with the data columns in the CSV.

Run the InDesign Data Merge task

After you've created the CSV and set up your InDesign file, you're ready to get started with using Data Merge.

In the Quick tasks screen, click InDesign Data Merge.
Click Start and then Select.

Select a templated InDesign file that's been tagged for data merge.

After the InDesign file is uploaded successfully, the list of tags that are present in the file are displayed with the corresponding page numbers.

Note:

This is a read-only list for validation. If you find the tags are incorrect, replace your InDesign file.
After you're done uploading a valid InDesign file, click Next.
Upload a data source, either use a Google sheet or a CSV file with a valid format. See the prerequisites section above, for the CSV format.

If you choose to use a Google sheet, you'll be prompted to paste a public share link of the sheet.

Else, you'll be prompted to upload a CSV file from your computer.

Note:

If you're using a Google sheet, you'll get an error if you provide a private link.
(Optional), If required, click Replace, to choose another Google sheet or CSV file
(Optioanl)

Click the edit icon, to map the tags in your InDesign file with the CSV data columns.
Note:
We'll map data columns with the tags, based on their names. However, you're allowed to change this, as required:

Image tags may be matched with text data columns.

Data columns names may be different from the InDesign tag names.

Multiple InDesign tags may be matched to the same data column.
Each InDesign tags must be mapped to a data source column.

If we're unable to map the InDesign tags to the data source columns, the following dialog is displayed.
Click Add to upload the image files referenced in the data file.

You can upload the following file formats:

PNG

JPG

TIFF
In the Selected images dialog, either add more images to this task or click Add to continue with the currently selected images.

Note:

If any images that are referenced in the data file, are missing from the images that you've selected you'll get a warning for the images they still need to upload.
Click Next.
Choose the image placement options.
Choose from the following export file options:
- INDD
- PDF (default)
- PNG
- JPG
Once you're done, click Run task.
As soon as the task is complete, you'll receive a notification, by email.

To start a new task, click Return home.

To view the output of this task in Your Work, click View files.

Save the InDesign data merge task

Save tasks that you'll perform repeatedly. For example, when creating name tags or localized versions of menus that you need to change often or create new.

The first time you run the task, save it. We'll save all the configurations you've made. From then on, all you need to do is run the saved task and change the files to upload. All saved tasks are displayed in the Aspen home screen. So, when you're at the home screen, you can either choose to start a new task or re-use a task you've saved before.

As you proceed through the steps to run the task, you'll see a Save task button in the upper-right corner of your workspace.

Click at any point during the workflow.
Enter a name and, optionally, a description.

As you progress to subsequent steps in the workflow, we'll save any other configuration changes you make to the task.

As you progress to subsequent steps in the workflow, we'll save any other configuration changes you make to the task.
The next time you open a task you previously saved, you'll be prompted to choose if you want to use the previous set of assets or discard those are use a new set.

Common questions

At the start of the task, if you upload an InDesign file that doesn't contain any tags, we'll show this error. For more on tags, see InDesign Data fields.

When you upload the InDesign file, you'll see the following dialog if your document doesn't contain fonts for text that's include in the document.

You can choose to ignore this warning. In this case, we'll use the default fonts when running the task. You can check again for the missing fonts. Or you can upload the font files. See how to manage fonts in InDesign.

Since Data Merge runs in the Adobe Cloud, we do not support linked images. We recommend that you embed the images into your InDesign file. However, you can still go ahead with the linked images. The final output will not include these images. Read up on how to Embed an image within the document.

The CSV file must contain all tags that are defined in the InDesign file. You cannot proceed until you fix this error in the CSV file.

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