How to automatically (bulk) insert about 1000 images into 1000 image frames in sequence?

[adisababbba]

I have about 1000 empty image frames in a document placed across over 80 pages.

Now I want to populate those image frames with images.

I have the image files named in sequential order.

Is there a way to quickly place the images in the empty image frames, in order?

I'll have to do this task every few weeks, so would really love to find a way to not have to do it manually one by one.

I'm aware that you can import multiple images as a batch and then click on the empty frames one by one to insert the images, but that's still kind of one by one. I'm looking for a quicker one-go method, if it exists.

Side note: not sure if it matters but in my specific case the image frames are inserted into text boxes. In other words, I have a large text box on each page. The text boxes are threaded to each other. And instead of text, I have about 1000 image frames inserted into the text boxes that flow from page to page.

Thanks!

[Derek Cross]

Maybe InDesign's Gridify feature may suit you:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMHhK81IuLE

[adisababbba]

Hi Derek,

Yes I don't have much experience using Gridify, but I did try it. 

It's not the best tool in my particular case, but even if it was, it's still not the "batch process" I was hoping for in the sense that it will still require me to go page by page. 

I want to populate hundreds of image frames across dozens of pages.

[Derek Cross]

Having set up the grid you can repeat it in all pages easily and set it up so the fitting (e.g. Center Content) for the image is as you want it. You can place a page worths of pictures at a time.

[Sumo148]

Data merge should work, assuming the layout is the same on every page. You can specify image paths in the CSV file, which will be pulled through into InDesign.

[adisababbba]

Thanks!

[Anselm Hannemann]

I think regarding the numbers you name here gives you two options:

1. Use data merge and the CSV

2. Use InDesign Scripting

Here are two example scripts, described in German but you can easily translate automatically:

• https://www.indesignscript.de/skript-detail/detail/News/photobook/
• https://www.indesignscript.de/skript-detail/detail/News/imagecatalog/

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

But OP needs them to be as Inline Graphics inside a Story - not directly on the Page.

[Anselm Hannemann]

In which case it’d be needed to include XML tags in the text. If that’s not possible/feasible, it’ll get a bit tricky indeed.

[adisababbba]

Yes, I've never used Data Merge before, but it does seem to do what I asked if the images were directly on the page.

I'm not entirely sure that the inline graphics method is good for me. At first I thought it would be helpful in case I need to remove an image or two and maintain the sequence, but after thinking about it, we might not want that and prefer replacing any image that needs to be removed. Anyways, that's just specific details regareding our project. 

But thanks @Anselm Hannemann for your tips! I'll look into those.

[Derek Cross]

It might be worth having a look at this article by David Blatner:
"How to Quickly Place Many Images into Your InDesign Document"
https://creativepro.com/quickly-place-images-indesign-document/

[Kasyan Servetsky · Accepted solution]

Check out this script. Instead of frames, you can write in file names delimited by a couple of @ characters. The script will do the rest of the job.

[adisababbba]

Thanks!