
The fastest way to solve this issue is copying all the columns in a new file or using a text editor such as Sublime Text or TextWrangler and cleaning the content of the exported file. You can check that by simply placing the file (.csv/.txt) as a text inside InDesign, and activating "Show Hidden Characters.” There might be some columns in the file that contain some text and that information was deleted manually. Please fix the file or select another file,” it’s because the file (.csv/.txt) you are importing is not clean. If you keep getting this error: "The selected data source has one or more empty field names. Common errors The selected data source has one or more empty field names Otherwise, you could combine Data Merge with custom scripts in order to import the tables later.

#INDESIGN AUTOMATION DATA MERGE HOW TO#
If you'd like to learn how to do that, click here to read the tutorial. The best way to create a table in InDesign is by linking an Excel spreadsheet into InDesign. However, for the tables you see in my document, I have to import them after the data merge. Of course, you can insert placeholders into a table and InDesign will replace them with your data. Unfortunately, with data merge you can import only textual data and link to images. It has the name of the product, its picture, a short description, the price, and a barcode. We need to create a prototype, in InDesign, of the layout we want to use in the data merge process. So, If you are looking for a way to create several business cards in just a few seconds, you should definitely read that post.
#INDESIGN AUTOMATION DATA MERGE UPDATE#
Update 2020: I recently wrote a new tutorial on how to make several business cards using InDesign Data Merge. When should you use data merge?ĭata merge is great when you have to lay out a document (or part of a document) that has a "prototype example" (repetitive layout) that needs to be repeated in a grid or one record per page with different data. However, she doesn't talk about data merge with images, so for that (and because this guide goes more in depth), I invite you to keep reading even after you've seen the video. It's great content, explained very well, and Teela’s voice is calm and clear.

She explains in eight minutes how to create a certificate using data merge. If you prefer a video guide, see this video by Teela Cunningham. Read further in the tutorial to create documents with a structure-layout similar to these: Run a preview to make sure of the result.Add the placeholders to the prototype design in your document.Select the data source in InDesign using the Data Merge panel.Create a prototype in an InDesign document.

