In the Quick tasks screen, click InDesign Data Merge.
Last updated on
1 November 2021
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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. Data Merge makes this type of task easy and quick. Data Merge 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.
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.
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Click Upload.
Upload any InDesign file that has 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.
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After you're done uploading a valid InDesign file, click Next.
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Either use a Google sheet or a CSV file from your computer 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.
(Optional), If required, click Replace, to choose another Google sheet or CSV file
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After you've uploaded a CSV file or selected a Google sheet, you're prompted 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.
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After you've completed your tag mapping, close the dialog and click Next.
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Upload any required image files.
You can upload the following file formats:
- PNG
- JPG
- TIFF
- PNG
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Click Next.
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Choose from the following export file options:
- INDD
- PDF (default)
- PNG
- JPG
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Once you're done, click Run task.
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After the task is complete, click View files.
Note:You'll received an email once the task is complete.
That's it!
The InDesign file variations are now available in the Files section on assets.adobe.com.
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.