Skip to main content
C
carolines33578031
Participant
May 10, 2017
Answered

InDesign Mail Merge - preview okay, but merged document different/incorrect

  • May 10, 2017
  • 2 replies
  • 3115 views

I was so happy to discover the mail merge feature. I was successful in creating ID badges with staff names and photos. When recreating the design I started once again with a fresh import of same data file and then merged into multiple page document. The preview looks great, however, the end result shows a duplicate image on almost every page, followed by another image duplicated. The data source is about the 12th line of data. No idea what to do differently. I've relinked data fields and changed margins with no success.  Can't understand why the preview is perfect but the merged document is different. Please help!

Correct answer alenp21464498

I had this issue, but I found two ways to fix it. If the other does not work, try another.

  1.  Disable the preview, save, and click export to pdf from data merge. (No need to create a new file) - This should fix the majority of problems.
  2. After exporting to pdf, a new window appears called Create Merged Document, in there, select instead of All Records > pick the Range and type your pages with commas. Sometimes I have seen fixes with exporting in different orders and then adjusting the files afterwards when opening the pdf file. Different order means: instead of 1,2,3,4,5 > 3,4,5,1,2 (depending which page is bugged).

2 replies

A
alenp21464498Correct answer
Participant
April 22, 2023

I had this issue, but I found two ways to fix it. If the other does not work, try another.

  1.  Disable the preview, save, and click export to pdf from data merge. (No need to create a new file) - This should fix the majority of problems.
  2. After exporting to pdf, a new window appears called Create Merged Document, in there, select instead of All Records > pick the Range and type your pages with commas. Sometimes I have seen fixes with exporting in different orders and then adjusting the files afterwards when opening the pdf file. Different order means: instead of 1,2,3,4,5 > 3,4,5,1,2 (depending which page is bugged).
    C
    Cromwell5C34
    Participant
    August 29, 2024

    Thanks so much, fix #1 worked like charm!

     

    It's so annoying because it takes so much time finding out what causes the issue (redoing the excel & csv, creating a new indesign file, etc.) 

    S
    SJRiegel
    Legend
    May 10, 2017

    Unfortunately, it seems like this bug is still present in InDesign's data merge; using Preview with Data Merge can corrupt the file.

    The only thing you can do is create a new file, and merge without previewing. (if you must see how it's going to fit, you can preview and cancel, then go back in a do a merge without previewing.

    (I'm disappointed that this bug has yet to be fixed years after it appeared.)

      C
      carolines33578031Author
      Participant
      May 10, 2017

      You are my hero! You have saved the day with your recommendation. Many thanks for that and also for such a very fast reply! :-)

      S
      SJRiegel
      Legend
      May 10, 2017

      I'm glad I could help. This has been a problem for years now, across many versions. I've sort of stopped expecting a fix, and just work around it.

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