AfPub - Data merge linked text frames

[Sephen]

Hi, 

How can I use Data merge with linked text frames? I would like my text to follow a linked text frame instead of creating a new page for every article.

Thanks in advance

[Sephen]

nobody?

[Old Bruce]

On 3/13/2021 at 12:11 AM, Sephen said:

Hi, 

How can I use Data merge with linked text frames? I would like my text to follow a linked text frame instead of creating a new page for every article.

Thanks in advance

So you have a Spreadsheet (or Database) with articles in it and .... I am lost, you want to load, say 24 records with at least one longish article in a field going into linked text frames. How many fields in how many records and how many of the fields in each record are going to require linked text frames. How much text is in the longish fields, am I looking at dozens of words or hundreds or thousands?

There are so many variables I can come up with which may or may not relate to your specific situation. I also need to know what you are wanting/expecting from the merged result.

[MikeW]

Just now, Old Bruce said:

So you have a Spreadsheet (or Database) with articles in it and .... I am lost, you want to load, say 24 records with at least one longish article in a field going into linked text frames. How many fields in how many records and how many of the fields in each record are going to require linked text frames. How much text is in the longish fields, am I looking at dozens of words or hundreds or thousands?

There are so many variables I can come up with which may or may not relate to your specific situation. I also need to know what you are wanting/expecting from the merged result.

Nearly all my data merges involved linked frames. Doesn't really matter what the contents are in the data file.

As far as I know, it isn't possible in APub.

[Old Bruce]

Works if you use text frames, but not if the first frame is in the Data Merge Layout Tool cells and the next is outside of the cells.

I really have no clue what is being merged here and what the desired result is. Same page, different pages, a variable number of pages???? Three fields with longish text or two but unknown which will be longest.

Sometimes it may be more worthwhile to do the merge in the Database/Spreadsheet to a word processor document and then layout that document.

[Sephen]

Let's say I have a JSON file with all kinds of dogs for example. Each dog has a name, description a list of characteristics and an image.  How can i merge this in a linked text field instead of a grid or one item per page. Some texts span multiple pages and some have only a few lines.

[Old Bruce]

1 hour ago, Sephen said:

Let's say I have a JSON file with all kinds of dogs for example. Each dog has a name, description a list of characteristics and an image.  How can i merge this in a linked text field instead of a grid or one item per page. Some texts span multiple pages and some have only a few lines.

I repeat my last sentence from the post above yours:

Sometimes it may be more worthwhile to do the merge in the Database/Spreadsheet to a word processor document and then layout that document.