Indesign and Data Merge

[timothyh70102503]

I have a card design double sided, it is for a child sponsorship in Haiti, I need to merge with a spreadsheet that has over 300 kids, I go through the steps and it either puts the same photo and info on every page or just one.

So my question is when I set up the InDesign Document how do I set it up, do I set over 300 Pages? Do I set up the copy on each page or will it place it on every page, do I leave all but the first page blank?

Can someone list the steps in simple language? Every thing I look up starts after the indesign document is created and I am I will add a copy of the layout.

It is a two sided document printed front and back 300 times plus.

[Jeffrey_Smith]

Is the name of each photo entered into the source data? For your example, the image used is named: child1.jpg. Is there a column in spreadsheet designated for the corresponding photo, along with the other data to be used?

Name	Grade	Birthday	@photo
Emmanuel	6	9/14/03	child1.jpg
Maria	5	7/25/05	maria.jpg

[timothyh70102503]

The data seems to work, when I choose, name, image ect, but when I hit preview it is only on the first page and not the second.

Should all the other pages just have background and I tag just the first page for Data Merge?

What I am trying to figure out is do I need to put the copy on every page and an image box or just on the first?

How do I lay out the InDesign part of it?

Then the data merge.

[timothyh70102503]

Yes there is a column in for each image with corresponding information.

It changes on the InDesign part on page one but does not flow to the other pages changing it for each child.

[SJRiegel]

Is the back page the same for all of the cards?

For the data merge to work, it can only have one page in the merge template.

[timothyh70102503]

It is the same layout only the names and some info changes, yes it is the same.

Do you mean one page with info on it and all the rest of the pages with only the background? Example page 1 and two, two having the info you tag for data merge and the rest of the pages just the background?

Or do you mean just two pages period with the second page having the data merge info?

what are the steps once I choose one of these?

[Jeffrey_Smith]

That's not true, you can have multiple page data merges.

[timothyh70102503]

I guess what I need to know is if I have 300 kids that have 2 pages each, one page has interchangeable information (data merge) how should the InDesign be based on the image above.

1. Do we have the information and picture just on one page? (the second one the back) and have 298 pages with just the background image?

2. Or do we have 300 kids with a page with info on it for each being 600 pages with the interchangeable information (data merge) on the second page for each.

3. Or is there only two pages with the info on the second page and it automatically creates a page for each kid based on those two pages?

I am not sure I have the indesign document right? I tried the data merge and it worked for page one only and the other 300 plus pages stayed the same.

Help.

[Jeffrey_Smith]

Look at screen shot: You will need a facing page master. This will need to be arranged with the liquid layout tool so the bleed elements will not interfere with each other after the merge. Insert the variable placeholders as shown in red. Variable and static elements are placed on each of the master pages. Use layers for static and variable elements. The photo header needs to start with @ in the source data. The front could have a variable as well. This example is showing a printer spread: 4-1 on right master, 2-3 on left master. For 300 record source file, this will produce a 600 page Indesign document or 600 page exported PDF, outside1, inside1, outside2, outside2, etc. The source .csv or .txt file needs saved in same folder/directory as the images.

[Jeffrey_Smith]

Here is a link to files used in example data merge:

https://adobe.ly/2BXNSuL

[timothyh70102503]

    Your information helped a great deal, I was able to figure it out using your information and doing the following.

    1. I deleted the double Master page and I made a Master A and a Master B.

    2. I put the backgrounds on the two masters.

    3. I put the editable tagged info for data merge on the regular page.

    The reason it was not working was the backgrounds were on the regular page, now it is done in NO time, I am very happy and I thank

    you for your help, could not have done it without you.