Data Merge a paragraph that contains another field placeholder

Question

So for instance in a paragraph of text I am pulling from my csv I want to be able to populate another field within the data eg.

So lets say the below lines are my <<bodycopy>> paras in my spreadsheet

I want to be able to populate the following cells of <<bodycopy>> with a first name in different spots eg

- Focus Focus Focus! <<Firstname>> is a human dynamo and will go far in the footy world.

- Adventurous, Enthusiastic, Energetic, <<Firstname>> is the Duracell bunny of our group.

- Goal orientated is an understatement – thriving under pressure <<Firstname>> is always there for the team.

I understand I could write the paras in such a way that they always start with first name eg

<<firstname>> <<body copy>> but wondering if there is a workaround to the above. To Give some context I am using the <<bodycopy>> as a bio on a trading cards where I merge in photos, names, teams and bios etc

Robert at ID-Tasker · Accepted Answer

Can't you split contents of your Paras in your database?

<<bodycopy_before>><<Firstname>><<bodycopy_after>>

In case anyone might be interested - it will be possible to do it as OP wants in my ID-Tasker - my tool will be able to refer to already imported contents and modify it in any way user wants.

Randy Hagan · Answer

The problem with your plans is that Data Merge doesn't hold information for future processing.

It takes a source document, merges information from a data file with data fields expressed in the source document and creates an output product — usually multiple examples of the source document multiplied by the number of times the longest column of data runs in your data file. So once you run the Data Merge functionality, it is done. A one-time good deal.

Perhaps some of the script mavens around here can come up with something that helps you merge multiple data sources into a single file for performing the data merge, but I would think if you have the resources it'd just be easier to use a relational database to merge multiple source documents before you do the Data Merge within InDesign. Then all your data can be applied and you can take full advantage of that one-time good deal that the Data Merge functions offer you.

Hope this helps,

Randy

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