59
ADOBE INDESIGN CS PAGEMAKER EDITION
User Guide Supplement
4
Select the data source using the Data Merge
palette. (See “Selecting a data source for the target
document” on page 60.)
5
Insert fields from the Data Merge palette into
the target document. (See “Inserting data fields in
the target document” on page 61.)
6
Preview the records to make sure that the target
document will look the way you intend. (See
“Previewing records” on page 62.)
7
Merge the target document with the data source
file. (See “Merging records” on page 63.)
Planning a data merge
Before you set up your target document,
determine how you want the final document
to look, so that you know which fields are
necessary to accomplish the merge. For example,
if you are creating a postcard that will be mailed
to customers, you may want to use the following
data fields:
< < F i r s t Na m e > > < < L a s t Na m e > >
< < Co m p a ny > >
< < Ad d re s s > >
< < Ci t y > > , < < S t a te > > < < Z i p Co d e > >
Make sure that your data source file is structured
in such a way that you can include the appropriate
fields in your target document. For example, the
top row of a spreadsheet should contain the field
names that you’ll use in the target document, such
as “Company” and “Address.”
Working with data source files
The data source typically originates from a
spreadsheet or database application, but you can
create your own data source file using InDesign or
any text editor. Data source files must be in a
comma- (.csv) or tab-delimited (.txt) text format.
Check your source application’s user guide for
more information on exporting a comma-
delimited file.
In a comma- or tab-delimited text file, records are
separated by paragraph breaks; fields are separated
by columns. The data source file can also include
text or pathnames that refer to images on disk.
(See “Including images in the data source file” on
page 59.)
If you want to include a comma or quotation
mark in a comma-delimited file, enclose the
text within quotation marks, such as “Brady,
Hunt, and Baxter, Inc.”. If you do not include the
quotations marks, each name is treated as a separate
field.
Including images in the data source file
You can include fields for images in your data
source files. When creating a data source file, you
insert text or pathnames that refer to image files,
and type an “at” symbol (@) at the beginning of
the data field name, such as
@Photos
. The @
symbol is required only in the first line; subse-
quent lines should include the image pathnames.
Note:
Some applications, such as Microsoft
®
Excel
®
,
require you to type an apostrophe (') before the @
symbol (such as
'@Photos
) to validate the function.
