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O
ogutuie
Inspiring
February 8, 2023
Question

Data merge - multiple/different data on same page

  • February 8, 2023
  • 1 reply
  • 1285 views

Hello all,

Fellows, I have a simple question, how do I get from this to this, using Data merge? If not with Data merge, then how?

How do I suppose to prepare the excell file, formatted how, or maybe in InDesign some special import option, etc?

 

*the data is only like how I attached the example, I'm not talking about manual labor to split something or anything in excell, they're hundreds of data, I'm looking for an automated thing.

 

Thanks.

  

  

 

This topic has been closed for replies.

1 reply

S
SJRiegel
Legend
February 8, 2023

In order to use Data Merge for this, your data would have to be re-arranged as follows:

There may be a way to automate this change in Excel, but that is beyond my knowledge base. 

Your InDesign doc would then be set like this:

 

 to give you this:

    O
    ogutuieAuthor
    Inspiring
    February 8, 2023

    Wow, thanks man, thanks for your time you took to exemplify this, I know what you are saying, I'm fully aware of how it works, but just like you said, the secret is the excell file. How the data is arranged there.

    Unfortunately the data from Info 1 and info 2 are quite random. I was afraid of this, of digging thru the formulas in excel to find some magic way to take the correct data from the correct cell and moving it to a different column.

     

    pfffff, right, deep breath and dive into excell formulas

     

    Thanks again.

    Peter Spier
    Community Expert
    Peter SpierCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 8, 2023

    You'll need to have a column in the Excel file for every possible data value in your group (you said this is random, so if there might be three or more values in a group, you need that many columns) and a placeholder for each field on the template. That doen't mean there has to be data in each cell, just that the number of columns matches the maximum number of data units in a record.

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