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K
Katie Kelly Designs
Inspiring
February 25, 2025
Question

Best option to link multiple excel files?

  • February 25, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 387 views

I am working on a large budget book and the client wants to be able to edit the excel files (tables) on their end and just have me link to them from the InDesign file. The tables are not all the same headings and have different row headings and content. What's the best way for me to link these files? Data merge? The file also has to be turned into an accessible pdf (which I know how to do but have never worked with linked excel files befofre). Thanks so much for your help!

1 reply

Robert at ID-Tasker
Robert at ID-Tasker
Legend
February 25, 2025

DataMerge won't work. 

 

Depends on the layout - you could set an option in the preferences and link your Excel files when placing. 

 

But every time Excel file will change - you'll lose any formatting done in InDesign. 

 

Can you post some screenshots? 

 

Or maybe this would be within your budget: 

 

https://www.65bit.com/software/easycatalog-lite/

 

K
Katie Kelly DesignsAuthor
Inspiring
February 25, 2025

Thanks so much Robert. This is what a typical table is (this is from my InDesign file). 

Because it needs to be exported into an accessible pdf, each table has to have it's own table (not subheadings...etc.)         

 

Re: losing the formatting: So they would need to format in Excel (blue heading background..etc.) so I didn't have to update each time? The book is over 300 pages and is a mix of tables, images, text and graphics. 

 

Thanks for the link to the catalog site, I will take a look at that as well.

Robert at ID-Tasker
Robert at ID-Tasker
Legend
February 25, 2025

As long as those are a "simple" tables - that can be styled using Table and Cell Styles - and of course ParaStyles - you can create a TableStyle - and select it during Placing.

 

Then, whenever you will update the link to the Excel file - InDesign will re-apply this TableStyle:

 

 

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