Indesign Data Merge

[Naomi5DAF]

Hi,

I am having probelms data merging multiple records per page. I will attach pics of the files.

My TXT. file doesn't have " " inverted commas; does this matter?

I have saved Excel file as Tab-delimted Text file (TXT). See attached files. But Indesign is not reading my Days fields (i.e. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday etc) properly, as well as my Dates of the week.  

When I go to create merged documnet I am stopped by error message, "Cannot Create Merged Document Because no placeholders are present." (see attached). What have I done wrong here?

And is there a way to insert multiple TXT. files into the one Indesign document as I have multiple Master pages with Multiple placeholder text. Or should I just create a new Indesign doc for each Master page and corresponding TXT date merge file?

Thanks so much!

[Peter Spier]

The only way that layout will work is if you modify your data set to merge one record per page. You will need to add a column for each separate day, so you will need columns for Weeks, Date From, Date To, Day 1, Date 1, Day 2, Date 2 ... Day 7, Date 7, then add the extra field headers for the seven weekdays to your Master/Parent page. You shouold wind up with 52 records for one year.

That being said, there's really no need to merge the names of the days since those are the same on every page. Just enter them as static tex on your Master/Parent Page.

[Naomi5DAF]

 Whoops, of course I can just write the days of week (Monday, Tuesday) on master page. Thanks. I might try this other technique you've both mentioned.

But if I was using data merge, would I add anymore columns than what I've already got? I would delete weekday column.

[Peter Spier]

To do data merge you will need a column for each unique piece of data on the page (you can use the same column to put the same data multiple times by putting the field placeholder in multiple positions), so you need columns for start each field of the header information and seven columns for the days.

[JackieO555]

Hello Peter

I wonder if you could help me with a similar issue. I have created the ID file and all the fields correspond with the excel file in csv however, when i click on the field a number 2 appear in the data merge but there is only one field linked to that specific column - see attached.

When i click on merge - a window pops up with lots ot errors - see attached

Also some of the fields do not merge - the only ones i managed to merge are the A1, A2 and A3 fields. 😞 

Any idea as to why this is happening?

Many thanks

Jackie 

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@JackieO555 

Can you show us a screenshot of your CSV file?

[JackieO555]

[JackieO555]

Hi @Robert at ID-Tasker ... I have removed the tabs and commas on the excel file and still doing the same

[Peter Spier]

Still can't tell from the screen shot if there are any breaks.

Can you post the actual .csv file?

[JackieO555]

it doesnt allow me to upload the csv file 😞

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

it doesnt allow me to upload the csv file 😞

By @JackieO555

It should allow you to post CSV file - but just in case you can change extension to TXT.

[Peter Spier]

you can also post a link to the file on a file-sharing service like dropbox

[JackieO555]

@Peter Spier finally got the data to work - deleted all the spacing and commas - and the para spaces - thank you. 

Would you know why i still see the number 2 when i merge the file?

Also if i want to run one sheet for each week day, how do you suggest I add the data to the excel sheet? For example for Monday i got all the details as seen, but then I would like to add Tuesday, Wednesday etc for the week so the managers can fill each cell as per their daily muster meeting. Any suggestions?

Thank you.

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@JackieO555 

How many records do you have in your CSV file?

[Peter Spier]

@JackieO555  I beleive the number inrthe merge panel refers t the page where the field is located...

I'm about to start my workday here, so no time to do a thorough examination of the .indd file if you post it, but Robert is in your time zone I believe if you post that. In general, though, to add another day you would need to add a new row for each day  the way you are currently set up, presuming each day is one record and you are merging one record per page.

[Peter Spier]

As @Robert at ID-Tasker says, I think we need more info on the .csv file, but it needs to show all the data in the fields, not just the cropped cells.

I suspect the problem is that you a comma included in the data text, or a paragraph break. Saving as Tab-delimited .txt instead of .csv will allow the use of commas in the text, but paragraph breaks or new line characters must be substituted with a code you can replace after the merge using Find/Change

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

As @Robert at ID-Tasker says, I think we need more info on the .csv file, but it needs to show all the data in the fields, not just the cropped cells.

I suspect the problem is that you a comma included in the data text, or a paragraph break. Saving as Tab-delimited .txt instead of .csv will allow the use of commas in the text, but paragraph breaks or new line characters must be substituted with a code you can replace after the merge using Find/Change

By @Peter Spier

Exactly.

[Mario Fritsche]

The way Excel is set up, data merging will not work. For this, the structure on the page must be the same, but it is not, because the calendar week is at the top and the weekdays at the bottom.
I would not go the way of a data merge, but either by inserting the data (for this the Excel must be adapted) or a script. If you need help, please contact me via private message.

[Peter Spier]

Organization of the spreadsheet is not required to match the layout except that the spreadsheet needs to have a field for every value to be merged. How those are arranged on the document page is entirely up to the designer.

There are other methods of producing this layout that might be simpler than data merge. Simply placing two different text files, one for the page headers, and one for the day numbers, for example, with appropriate styles and keep options to assure that each entry is placed into a new frame, but this still requires creation of the data files.

[Mario Fritsche]

The layout and structure of a data table makes sense, as it should facilitate the work. In this case, Excel would have to be created in the form "One row = one week", for example.

[Peter Spier]

Absolutley. Which is waht I was trying to say in my first response. I think I misinterpreted what you were saying.

[Naomi5DAF]

Thanks Peter and Mario. If this other way is easier than perhaps I should try that.
I have PM'd you Mario for guidance, thanks for the offer. 👍🏼

Absolutley. Which is waht I was trying to say in my first response. I think I misinterpreted what you were saying.

By @Peter Spier

[Mario Fritsche · Accepted solution]

This structure of the table can help.

 

[Naomi5DAF]

That table structure worked for the data merge. Thanks again. 

[aghanjar16430960]

I have PM'd you Mario for guidance,