Data merge issues when upgrading to InDesign 19.4

[info@komunikando.org]

Today I updated indesign to version 19.4. When I use the databases for the data merge function with linked images within the database, a message tells me that the images are not reachable. The files I’m working on, including databases and images, are in the Dropbox folder. I downgraded to version 19.3 and everything worked again. Can anyone help me?

{Reanmed By MOD}

[knic pfost]

should have said: i DID find (and delete!) the same file but in MacOS

"/Applications/Adobe InDesign 2024/Resources/Cookies/ENABLE_POSIX_PATH"

As stated, this did not help. i am downgrading now.

[Vivek12]

@knic pfost  We noticed that the suggested workaround didn't work if we didn't quit InDesign before following the required steps. Please confirm whether you tried the steps after quitting the InDesign app. If the issue persists, please share a sample CSV file and a screen recording depicting the issue to diagnose this issue further.

^VS

[Frans v.d. Geest]

Quit InDesign(!);

Remove the file mentioned ENABLE_POSIX_PATH;

Restart InDesign.

Works here on Mac.

[Jeffrey36883918578x]

I am new to indesign but I am trying to load png files to create card layouts with my graphics and text for my cards, is there a reason that the data merge will not work with png files? I can get jpg files to work and my text fiel

[leo.r]

Your versions of InDesign and operating system?

InDesign 19.4 has a problem with importing images via data merge (although I don't know if it's the same issue as you are able to use jpeg after all):

https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/data-merge-issues-when-upgrading-to-indesign-19-...

[Joan33359739cbe9]

Hello everyone,
I have a problem with data-merge files that worked very well until the latest update (19.4) with tables that include an image field:
Volumes:Images:products:prod01.jpg
Until a few days ago this field worked and the image was placed in indesign without problems, now it seems that it no longer works.
However, relative paths continue to work:
/products/prod01.jpg

The problem we have is that I work with several local servers and I need paths from the root

Anyone having the same problem?
Do you know of any solution to this?

Thank you for your answers

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

Please check this post:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/data-merge-issues-when-upgrading-to-indesign-19-... 

[Joan33359739cbe9]

Thanks Robert,

Deleting the file ENABLE_POSIX_PATH makes everything work again.

Sorry for not seeing that post before asking.

[SanyamTalwar]

Please refer to https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/kb/data-merge-not-working-absolute-paths-macos.html 

[Lokesh29835019mhvn]

I am also facing the same issue while importing the PDF file using my plugin in InDesign (19.4). After reading the thread, I tried the suggested workaround, but I am still encountering the same problem. I also tried using InDesign (19.1), on which it used to work properly, but now I am facing the same issue with this version as well.
Note : I am using MacOs version 14.4.1. Please let me know in case other info is required.

[Surbhi Sharma]

Hi @Lokesh29835019mhvn , 
Incase you are facing an issue in 19.1 version too, then it maybe a different issue.
Please reach out to your plugin developer once.

[Eva201109868etg]

Just adding on here since I just dealt with the same issue. As an alternative workaround, you are able to place the source file in the same location as the images and it will work. Not the easiest solution depending on the task, but it worked! I had to find another workaround because our network computers don't have permission to edit or see system files.

[Jonathan36624190r1sh]

Getting indesign to recognize file paths has been difficult.

I am running macOS 14.2 (23C64) and Indesign 19.4

I have been mapping image locations from path out of google drive.

This is a resource that had been helpful:

https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/84121/indesign-data-merge-file-path-syntax

I had it working fine by replacing "/" with ":" and removing the first instance. 

For example Instead of;

/Users/name/Desktop/example.png

I have been using:

Users:name:Desktop:example.png

The files paths have been much longer mapping from google drive, but it had been working wonderfully this way.

But now it's not working.

CSV. files that had once populated images mapped from google drive.

It was working fine the day before, now it's not.

I am getting the error "The data source references one or more missing images...." 

By manually mapping the image and checking the link I found the path identicle to what I had in my CSV. (Except with a leading "/" and seperated directories with "/")

I tried using that exact path with the "/" instead again, and with a leading "/" again, but found no luck.

What's working for others?

What changed that my CSV. is not mapping correctly anymore?

[leo.r]

https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/data-merge-referencing-incorrect-file-path-for-i...

In short: you need to use POSIX paths in InDesign 19.4 and later.

EDIT: Ok I didn't read your post carefully, you're already using POSIX paths.

[leo.r]

I am running macOS 14.2

By @Jonathan36624190r1sh

First, update to the latest Sonoma, macOS 14.4.x (there were multiple issues with InDesign prior to 14.3 although not necessarily related to your issue).

[leo.r]

By manually mapping the image and checking the link I found the path identicle to what I had in my CSV. (Except with a leading "/" and seperated directories with "/")

I tried using that exact path with the "/" instead again, and with a leading "/" again, but found no luck.

By @Jonathan36624190r1sh

Did you copy-paste the path from the Finder or just edited it manually in CSV? If you edited manually, then try to copy-paste the actual path into your CSV. Sometimes things seem identical while they're not.

[Jonathan36624190r1sh]

Thanks for the reply!

I have been copying and pasting from finder then using find and replace in sheets to replace the "/"s.

I am prone to small inconsistancies, but I don't think this is the case here.

I am going to update first and try some of the work arounds in the thread you posted. I will check back tomorrow.

[Colin Flashman]

19.4 has issues with data merge and links. Please follow the bug report below for progress:

https://indesign.uservoice.com/forums/601180-adobe-indesign-bugs/suggestions/48337655-data-merge

[HARSHIKA_VERMA]

Hi @Jonathan36624190r1sh, 

Sorry for the trouble. It looks like you're experiencing the similar issue mentioned in this post: https://adobe.ly/3QMRFzS

If so, then it's a known bug, and the team is working on it on priority. As of now, we would request you to please try the workaround in the post and let us know if that helps.

Thanks,

Harshika

[Nicolas37702915i0zh]

La solution proposé par les Dev fonctionne sur mac… Merci pour l'info! 

[Venessa Sylvester]

Instead of giving me the path to the link with colon separators, it is returning / in the place of usual colons. This doesn't work for the merge and returns the error below.

When I correct the path to use colons, it still will not find the images, even though the paths are correct. I tested making a new document, tested putting all images into the same folder with the indd file, and even tried to re-run merges that worked a few weeks ago.

In every case, I get this error message:

"The data source references one or more missing images. The missing images cannot be previewed or merged. At the time you create a merged document, you can choose to generate a list of all missing images."

I've restarted indd, restarted the computer, updated the OS to Sonoma 14.5, checked creative cloud to make sure indd is up to date. I'm at wit's end. I use this feature too often for it to just randomly break like this. Any and all advice is appreciated.

[leo.r]

InDesign 19.4 quietly dropped support for HFS (colon-separated) paths. However, there are still issues even with POSIX paths in data merge in 19.4. 

For more info, please see here:

https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/kb/data-merge-not-working-absolute-paths-macos.html

https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/data-merge-issues-when-upgrading-to-indesign-19-...

[Nicolas37702915i0zh]

Bonjour à tous,

Je profite de ce fil pour ajouter mon expérience : j'utilise la fusion de donnée dans le cadre de création d'étiquette depuis quelques années… Donc, la base de donnée (fichier excel) est propre, utilisée depuis de nombreux mois, l'arborescence n'a pas changée… Bref aucun changement. J'ouvre mon process ce matin pour produire les étiquettes de ma commande, et… tout foire : problème identique à celui abordé dans le thème. Après de nombreux essaie infructueux, j'ai fait l'essai avec une version plus ancienne d'InDesign : cela refonctionne. C'est bien un problème de la dernière version d'InDesign. Les dév Adobe ont du travail !

[leo.r]

By @Nicolas37702915i0zh

You may experience this known problem with data merge in InDesign 19.4 on Mac. InDesign quietly dropped support for HFS paths, which disrupted many existing workflows:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/data-merge-issues-when-upgrading-to-indesign-19-...

[Surbhi Sharma · Accepted solution]

Hi All,
This issue has been fixed in the latest version of InDesign 19.5
Kindly update the data source file with the POSIX style path in Macintosh to work with data merge functionality smoothly.
Please refer to the helpx https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/using/data-merge.html to know more about the difference between HFS and Posix style paths.
Note : Relative path as such /<foldername>/<filename> is no longer supported after the fix, as it considers the starting “/” as an absolute path. Instead the recommendation is to omit the starting “/” and use <foldername>/<filename> instead or any of the other existing way to access relative path like ./<foldername>/<filename>