Data Merge in Illustrator?

Forum|Forum|14 years ago
November 15, 2011
4 replies
55965 views

Hi there, anyone knows if Illustrator has Data Merge function?

or InDesign Data Merge 'alike' function in Illustrator?

Thank you.

Scripting

This topic has been closed for replies.

Correct answer Silly-V

That is a good video, but it's kind of old-method. Don't get me wrong, we would not have the new method now if we didn't have Joao's online converter along with other tutorials and script snippets people put together, which paved the way. Now, we have the VariableImporter script as well as John Garrett's in-depth video tutorials on the subject, including the one on Lynda/LinkedIn Learning, about Variable Data in Illustrator!

tayoufabrice

Participant

Here is a video I watched that helped me, it is a tutorial using Variables and an online service to convert Excel to XML

How to use variable data in adobe Illustrator - YouTube

I hope it will also help you.

Silly-VCorrect answer

Legend

That is a good video, but it's kind of old-method. Don't get me wrong, we would not have the new method now if we didn't have Joao's online converter along with other tutorials and script snippets people put together, which paved the way. Now, we have the VariableImporter script as well as John Garrett's in-depth video tutorials on the subject, including the one on Lynda/LinkedIn Learning, about Variable Data in Illustrator!

Q

q3player

Inspiring

I don't like Illustrator's wa of handling variable data either.

When setting up AI files with multiple different contents I use top level layers to do the job:

1) Set up one layer for elements that are identical in all versions

2) Set up one layer for each version, named with a keyword (in my case "Sorte_...")

Switching through these versions is like turning visibility of the layers on and off.

When the job is finished I split the versions using a script that turns off all top level layers named with the keyword, creating a new folder, then turning on and off one version layer after another and saving the AI file in the new folder, always with a new file name (original file name + version layer name without keyword). After the script has finished I have a new folder with as many AI files as there are version layers in my master file.

JETalmage

Inspiring

This PDF describes use of a Javascript I wrote a few years ago to capture ordinary tab-delimited text as Illustrator Varirable DataSets.

The associated script is here.

JET

Colin Flashman

Community Expert

@JET

that's good... provided the database is relatively small.

are there any solutions for something a little more industrial... such as records in the thousands or tens-hundreds of thousands?

not trying to be an antagonist, but I really do deal with databases this size, and at the moment use adobe indesign's Data Merge feature to handle merges like this. However, indesign can't warp or distort live text, so to use these effects, making variable graphics in illustrator is a workaround.

there are plugins like XMPie and DirectSmile, but i want to do as much as i can with the off-the-shelf creative suite as i can.

If the answer wasn't in my post, perhaps it might be on my blog at colecandoo!

J

jsavage77

Inspiring

I work with spreadsheets up to 2500 rows large routinly using extendscript and parsing a CSV file to step and repeat a 'template' design while replacing text/images in that template with those from the CSV file. Though it does take some time, I've had no problems being able to work with that size of a list. I don't know that you'll find anything optimised with scripting as far as speeds, you might want to look into illustrator's SDK to do what you're after.

S

sstofiel

Participant

I ceated an mac application called "Varistrator" that allolws you to define the variables in illustrator and assign them to the matching colums in an excel spreadsheet. It has options to use the variables in the names. It can generate eps and or pdf files on save. It could be done just using applescript or javascript but the frontend makes so no programming is needed.

I have not updated it for years and it does not work in Lion...