Publisher Data Merge

[kientructayho]

Hello,

I am designing a card game in Affinity Publisher and Designer (both v1.9.1) on my Mac.

I have a data file that contains image paths, card text, various details, and formatting data such as layer visibility, text color, and object/region fill colors (could be RGB or hex).

I have successfully used the Data Manager to import the file, and the Fields studio to assign text and image path content to a Data Merge layout object. But I cannot figure out if I can control the formatting or visibility of layers via that data file.

If I were programmatically building an SVG in python, I can read such a file, and render the given elements with the desired formatting specified by the data file. But after seeing AP's Data Merge in action, I scrapped that effort, especially since I'm not a SVG wizard. And of course, AP & AD are so much nicer to exist in rather than staring at abstract code wondering why my layering is busted.

I realize I could split my data into several subsets, and then create AP layouts for each version (with the text, layers, and visibilities set to all the needed permutations), then export and slice to be merged again into a master for printing on card stock for play testing. But I'm trying to avoid that sort of busy-work, and it sounds prone to manual errors.

I've also considered pre-rendering static resources in the desired formatting permutations, and then just setting those elements in AP Data Merge as a simple image path, but that's one more step to the process.

[Old Bruce]

7 hours ago, kientructayho said:

But I cannot figure out if I can control the formatting or visibility of layers via that data file.

You cannot, none of the Affinity applications have any support for scripting.

7 hours ago, kientructayho said:

I've also considered pre-rendering static resources in the desired formatting permutations, and then just setting those elements in AP Data Merge as a simple image path, but that's one more step to the process.

I think this would be your best bet.

[jacobwilson9600]

On 3/30/2021 at 10:37 AM, Old Bruce said:

You cannot, none of the Affinity applications have any support for scripting.

I think this would be your best bet.

Say I wanted to change the color of a layer based on a variable determined in my data merge file. Would it be possible for me to change the color of a layer for each iteration in the column? So the first page would be red, the second yellow, the third blue, etc.

Edited April 4, 2022 by jacobwilson9600

[Komatös]

5 hours ago, jacobwilson9600 said:

Say I wanted to change the color of a layer based on a variable determined in my data merge file. Would it be possible for me to change the color of a layer for each iteration in the column? So the first page would be red, the second yellow, the third blue, etc.

Short. No! There is no way with data merge to define page/layer colors within the data merge database file.

[lacerto]

Obsolete.

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Obsolete.

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Obsolete.

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Obsolete.