Skip to main content
K
Kelli2737370250am
Participant
December 15, 2022
Question

Creating text variables (too small to warrant a csv data merge)

  • December 15, 2022
  • 1 reply
  • 281 views

I've currently got information that has to be entered in 2 places for each separate job in Illustrator (my initials, current date, customer name and city / state). I'd love a solution where I can just enter the information in once and it autopopulates into the other place(s). It sounds lazy, but there are so many precise details in each job, and I'd love to be able to streamline the process even a little.

 

I am familiar with the variable text options in InDesign, and that would be ideal for my purposes... is there any kind of scripting that can get me anywhere close to this in Illustrator? Every solution I've found for Illustrator deals with data merges using .csv files, but I only have the 3 text fields, each of which is in 2 different locations per file. 

This topic has been closed for replies.

1 reply

CarlosCanto
Community Expert
CarlosCantoCommunity Expert
Community Expert
December 16, 2022

there might be a couple of way of doing this, one of them is using a Transform Effect which would not need variables or scripting.

 

- select your text frame

- go to Effect->Distort & Transform...->Transform

- you'll get a Transform Dialog. 

- enter the Horizontal and Vertical distance where the second instance would be ie 100, 50

- enter 1 in the Copies field

- click Ok

 

now every time you update the text frame, the copy will automatically follow

 

    K
    Kelli2737370250amAuthor
    Participant
    December 27, 2022

    Thank you! I am going to play around with this feature and see if it can be useful.

     

    For my exact issue, the variable text was mixed into several text boxes (for example, the date is featured in a fillable PDF in one artboard, and then in the next it is in a "tag line" box featuring the artist's initials, property name and location, file path on the server, etc). So, my solution was very low tech: I just set up my template so that every place the date is displayed, it is "MM/DD/YY," the property name is "&PROP" and location is "&City, ST." From there, it is easy enough to utilize Find and Replace to fill each one in. And since my template file is saved on my personal desktop instead of the work server, I just filled in my own initials in the relevant places. 

     

    It's not perfect, but it works for now. I'm new to my job, and setting up each file involves organizing a lot of tiny details, so obviously the more I can automate it, the fewer errors I'll make. But the more I've researched, the more it looks like I'll need to learn some scripting to simplify it any more.

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices