Data Merge in Publisher

[Gregan]

Regarding data classification, the data concerned doesn't have to meet a very high level of protection  - it is private data, not of national interest, but I feel that it should have some level of protection. Maybe I'm being paranoid about GDPR, preferring to err on the side of caution and I understand your point that Affinity Publisher would now need to handle the password which would put a potential legal burdon upon Affinity. I guess the only way around that would be that Apub should handle data sources like Excel in the way that many other applications do – require that the data source be already open before Apub needs to aquire the data so that the password has been dealt with in the original application (Excel in this instance).

I have to say that I have learned a lot in having this discussion and that it will likely change the way I handle things. Thanks for your input, dkenner.

[walt.farrell]

7 hours ago, dkenner said:

I presume that it is not being suggested that APub should be able to access a password protected excel file with Affinity being given the password itself?

I think that is what's being suggested. If the user knows the password, and provides it to the application when using the file, then the application can access the data in the file.

[dkenner]

5 hours ago, Gregan said:

Maybe I'm being paranoid about GDPR, preferring to err on the side of caution

Possible someone here with greater insight into the GDPR could provide guidance on requirements, but in Canada (via ITSG-33) and America (via several NIST documents) there are assessments that can be carried out on data to determine the level of sensitivity.  While I realize it is the proverbial hammer of a gnat, but in large systems there are a pair of documents, Business Need for Security and Statement of Sensitivity, that are essentially questions for the business owner of the data to answer, which in turn determines the level of classification of data.  With that, what security controls would be applied can be determined.  

I would suggest that if the spreadsheet does not require encryption on the originating system, with adequate management of the access controls of a Dropbox instance, the file could be moved without encryption (In the context that I am familiar with, Protected A eg.name, address, telephone number &c. don't require it, Protected B does when transiting the Internet, but B brings with it a bunch of other controls for your IT systems that I very much doubt are in place).  There is also a question whether the organization trusts its own people, or that the password encryption is just to guard against inadvertent release.

My suggestion would be for, whomever is responsible for security of data in your organization, to contact whomever administers the GDPR, or do some searches on the Internet to find out what the requirements might actually be.  The proper application of security controls is about doing what makes sense in a cost effective manner.  It is a balance of controls, where going overboard on one, really doesn't improve the overall security posture.  Doing this might find that using something like Signal to email the file, without a password, leaves the file on your desk without password protection.  Then you don't need to spend $$$ on Dropbox (for this at least).  

This is a bit of a learning opportunity.  "err on the side of caution" implies spending treasure where it might not need to be spent, but one could be creating a Potemkin Village of security that really isn't necessary or effectively deployed.  If there was an inadvertent release, and you were audited, the window dressing won't help you.  Try a PCI-DSS (for credit card information) audit or two, and you will see where you are not spending money, and where you were wasting it.  I feel that Affinity is a product to be used within a security environment of differing levels, not to be a security control itself.  

If someone's reading of the GDPR is implying that you should you to treat data like it is from the classified realm, besides being in for a world of hurt, someone should be doing some research to understand how your business processes should be arranged for efficiency and to meet the requirements of the regulations.

Now, back too wondering why Affinity will import pages from another afpub file while on the local hard drive, but not when they are on a connected USB drive.  

And on the data merge side, I can't wait until Affinity will digest very large, "multi-page" excel spreadsheets. Unpassword protected...

 

 

[walt.farrell]

1 hour ago, dkenner said:

And on the data merge side, I can't wait until Affinity will digest very large, "multi-page" excel spreadsheets.

Doesn't it do that already?

[dkenner]

1 minute ago, walt.farrell said:

Doesn't it do that already?

It could be me not keeping up to date on capabilities, and I have not tried with 1.9.3, but I have a spreadsheet (Google sheets actually, but I can bring it into Numbers or Excel fast enough) of some eleven hundred lines (it is an index of articles for a newsletter that goes back nearly thirty years), that I would like to import into APub in its entirety over some 22 pages or more.  Then it could be posted as a PDF on a web site for people to reference.

When I last tried, it would do merge on a page by page basis into AP, but not allow the large scale manipulation and import I was seeking.  Looking release notes, as AP has evolved, I have not noticed that this has been addressed, so have not tried recently.  Again, this could be my fault and inattentiveness.  The videos I have found, and there are some excellent ones on YT by Affinity people and others, seem aimed as small tabled, or at creating, excellent, catalogues, but not at the mass import to create a very large index.  I could repeat a process twenty-something times, filling table after table, but changed, insertions, deletions, in the past did not cascade through the document as if they were linked text fields.

If it does, I am making myself look foolish for not trying recently...

[walt.farrell]

3 minutes ago, dkenner said:

It could be me not keeping up to date on capabilities, and I have not tried with 1.9.3, but I have a spreadsheet (Google sheets actually, but I can bring it into Numbers or Excel fast enough) of some eleven hundred lines (it is an index of articles for a newsletter that goes back nearly thirty years), that I would like to import into APub in its entirety over some 22 pages or more.  Then it could be posted as a PDF on a web site for people to reference.

When I last tried, it would do merge on a page by page basis into AP, but not allow the large scale manipulation and import I was seeking.  Looking release notes, as AP has evolved, I have not noticed that this has been addressed, so have not tried recently.  Again, this could be my fault and inattentiveness.  The videos I have found, and there are some excellent ones on YT by Affinity people and others, seem aimed as small tabled, or at creating, excellent, catalogues, but not at the mass import to create a very large index.  I could repeat a process twenty-something times, filling table after table, but changed, insertions, deletions, in the past did not cascade through the document as if they were linked text fields.

If it does, I am making myself look foolish for not trying recently...

I can't tell from that if you're trying to do data merge (nor do I understand the exact output format you want) or if you're trying to insert the data as a table. Tables are still limited to a single page.

[dkenner]

3 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

I can't tell from that if you're trying to do data merge (nor do I understand the exact output format you want) or if you're trying to insert the data as a table. Tables are still limited to a single page.

It has been tables that I have been trying to import data into, and then having the tables linked over multiple pages.  

An analogy would be spreadsheet with names, address and telephone numbers, and importing into AP to create a telephone book to be exported as a PDF or other type of document.  Were this stand alone, I would take a different course, but I wish to export this index in several pieces, over several months and have it as part of the monthly newsletter that I edit.

There has been little pressure to do, hence the patience here, as the newsletter proper has a maximum size and it is already there.

 

[lacerto]

(...)

[dkenner]

Thank you, I shall try this out.

 

Dixon