Skip to main content
B
BSNO
Participant
September 26, 2025
Answered

Data Merge cannot import Myanmar Unicoded UTF-8 formatted csv properly.

  • September 26, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 386 views

I have a csv files typed with Unicode Myanmar Font (Pyidaungsu Font) and Data Merge import can not shown correct characters in InDesign. Attached my test data files and some screen shots. 

Correct answer Eugene Tyson

@Joel Cherney might have better insights but here's what I think is going on

 

I think it's a quirk of how Data Merge handles text encodings. When you import the first UTF-16 file, InDesign caches the encoding and file structure internally. Even if you remove the data source, it doesn’t fully reset that cache. So when you try to load the next UTF-16 file, it often won’t re-read the encoding properly.

 

A couple of workarounds:
Save and close the document after removing the first data source, then reopen it before importing the next file.

 

Or give the new data file a different name before importing it (InDesign treats it as new and reloads it cleanly).

 

Stick to UTF-16 LE with BOM for consistency.

 

If you’re just updating data, you can overwrite the existing file on disk and choose Update Data Source instead of removing and re-importing.

 

I don't think it’s your font or file format causing it, I think it’s InDesign keeping old import settings in memory.


1 reply

E
Community Expert
Eugene TysonCommunity Expert
Community Expert
October 2, 2025

Best of my knowledge Data Merge in InDesign has very limited support for Unicode encodings. Even though your CSV is UTF-8, InDesign often struggles with complex scripts like Myanmar, Hindi, Thai etc.

 

A few things you can try:

  • Resave the CSV as UTF-16 (not UTF-8). InDesign often reads UTF-16 text files better.
  • Instead of CSV, try saving it as a tab-delimited TXT file with UTF-16 encoding. That usually works better with Data Merge.
  • Make sure the Pyidaungsu font is applied inside InDesign after merging, because InDesign won’t automatically assign it.
  • If nothing works, one workaround is to prepare the merge in Excel or Google Sheets, then copy-paste into InDesign manually, or use a third-party plugin like EasyCatalog which has much stronger Unicode support.
    Joel Cherney
    Community Expert
    Joel CherneyCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 2, 2025

    You're mostly right on the money here, Eugene, although I'd disagree with the claim that InDesign "often struggles with complex scripts." It's more that the UI for handling complex scripts separately from other scripts is old-fashioned, and a little bit clunky. 

     

    InDesign's Data Merge tool can only accept data sources in a very limited number of encodings, and when selecting a data source, you have to tell InDesign exactly which encoding your data source uses. You can find this menu by checking the "Import Options" box when acquiring your data source:

    If your data source is in Excel, then saving out "Unicode Text" leads to a file with UTF-16 encoding and tab delimiters, so if are handling your data in Excel on Windows, you'd need to pick Tab, Unicode, PC. But if Burmese is your target language, then UTF-16 is your only encoding choice for your data source. 

      E
      Community Expert
      Eugene TysonCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      October 2, 2025

      Cool thanks for sharing!

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