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Pedidos
Pedidos
Participant
August 4, 2026
Answered

InDesign 21.5 Data Merge corrupts accented characters when running InlineMerge.jsxbin

  • August 4, 2026
  • 9 replies
  • 103 views

InDesign 21.5 — Data Merge corrupts accented characters when running InlineMerge.jsxbin

After updating to InDesign 21.5, Data Merge no longer handles accented characters correctly when I run my InlineMerge JSXBIN script.

For example:

Sección becomes Secci—n

Descripción_ES becomes Descripci—n_ES

The problem affects both the Data Merge field names and the merged text.

Steps to reproduce:

  1. Create a new InDesign document.
  2. Load a tab-delimited TXT file as a Data Merge source.
  3. The field names containing accented characters display correctly.
  4. Run the attached/linked inlineMerge.jsxbin script.
  5. Accented characters are replaced by incorrect characters, e.g. ó becomes —.

Important: The exact same TXT file and the exact same script work correctly in the previous version of InDesign.

I rolled back to the previous version and the problem immediately disappeared.

This appears to be a regression in InDesign 21.5 affecting Data Merge and/or the scripting API used by the script.

OS: macOS
InDesign: 21.5
Data source: plain-text tab-delimited TXT
Script: InlineMerge.jsxbin

Please investigate the regression in Data Merge/scripting character encoding.

    Correct answer Pedidos

    Update: I think I’ve found the cause and a workaround

    After the latest InDesign updates, InlineMerge stopped working correctly with some special characters, particularly ñ and accented vowels. This was not happening with previous versions of InDesign.

    After quite a bit of testing, I found that the issue seems to be related to the encoding of the TXT file used for Data Merge.

    Saving/exporting the TXT file as UTF-16 fixes the problem. The special characters are preserved correctly, and the text remains unchanged after running InlineMerge.

    It’s also worth mentioning that InlineMerge hasn’t been updated for many years, so it’s actually quite amazing that it continues to work with current versions of InDesign!

    For anyone experiencing the same issue after updating InDesign, I would recommend checking the TXT file encoding and trying UTF-16 before assuming that InlineMerge itself is broken.

    Hopefully this helps others who may run into the same problem. And thanks to everyone who helped investigate this!

    9 replies

    Pedidos
    PedidosAuthorCorrect answer
    Participant
    August 25, 2026

    Update: I think I’ve found the cause and a workaround

    After the latest InDesign updates, InlineMerge stopped working correctly with some special characters, particularly ñ and accented vowels. This was not happening with previous versions of InDesign.

    After quite a bit of testing, I found that the issue seems to be related to the encoding of the TXT file used for Data Merge.

    Saving/exporting the TXT file as UTF-16 fixes the problem. The special characters are preserved correctly, and the text remains unchanged after running InlineMerge.

    It’s also worth mentioning that InlineMerge hasn’t been updated for many years, so it’s actually quite amazing that it continues to work with current versions of InDesign!

    For anyone experiencing the same issue after updating InDesign, I would recommend checking the TXT file encoding and trying UTF-16 before assuming that InlineMerge itself is broken.

    Hopefully this helps others who may run into the same problem. And thanks to everyone who helped investigate this!

      jctremblay
      Community Expert
      jctremblayCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      August 25, 2026

      That could be it…. I’ll run some test file. Will come back.

        jctremblay
        Community Expert
        jctremblayCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        August 25, 2026

        That was it… 

        jctremblay
        Community Expert
        jctremblayCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        August 24, 2026

        There is a good chance the inlineMerge script needs to be updated to accommodate the change in InDesign 21.5. Try to reach Loïc Aigon who developp it.

        Abhishek Rao
        Community Manager
        Abhishek RaoCommunity Manager
        Community Manager
        August 4, 2026

        Hi @Pedidos,


        Thanks for reporting this issue.

        It looks like the InlineMerge.jsxbin script wasn't attached to your post. Could you please share the script file? It will help us determine whether the issue is related to a regression in InDesign 21.5 or something specific to how the script interacts with the Data Merge.

        If the script is proprietary or confidential, you're welcome to share it with me via Direct Message using a cloud-sharing service such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or a similar service.


        Looking forward to your update.

        Abhishek

        Pedidos
        PedidosAuthor
        Participant
        August 4, 2026

        Hi,

        Thanks for getting back to me.

        Yes, of course. I have attached the InlineMerge.jsxbin script I am using.

        The script is the same one I have been using successfully with previous versions of InDesign. The issue only appeared after updating to InDesign 21.5.

        To reproduce the issue:

        1. Open a new InDesign document.
        2. Load a tab-delimited TXT file as a Data Merge source.
        3. The accented characters display correctly at this point.
        4. Run InlineMerge.jsxbin.
        5. Characters such as ó are replaced by —. For example, Descripción_ES becomes Descripci—n_ES.

        I tested the exact same TXT file and the exact same script in the previous version of InDesign, and everything works correctly.

        I have currently reverted to the previous version because I use this workflow daily and need the Data Merge to work reliably.

        I hope this helps you identify whether this is a regression in InDesign 21.5.

        Best regards

        leo.r
        Community Expert
        leo.rCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        August 4, 2026

        I hope this helps you identify whether this is a regression in InDesign 21.5.
         


        Here are the release notes for InDesign 21.5:
        https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/indesign/desktop/whats-new/release-notes.html

        It includes this:

        • Data Merge enhancements

        Added support for multiline records and UTF-8 encoded data files.


        I wonder if the enhancements are what’s causing you the problem?

        Another user also reported Data Merge issues in InDesign 21.5:

         

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