Publisher v2 – Adjusting Data Merge Layout?

[tonyrambler]

Hi People,

I have a 100 page Publisher document which loads a portion of each page's text elements from a CSV. The data merge is working fine. When I generate the data merge, Publisher produces a new untitled document with the required 100 pages and all the generated text in place – so far so good.

The problem I'm having is that once I'm editing the new, merged document I can modify any Master Page elements – position, size, add/remove etc. – except for anything within the Data Merge Layout group. If I shuffle a DML group text box up or down the page, for instance, it changes on the Master Page but the other pages don't update. Anything I modify outside the DML group updates fine on the other pages.

I've attached 2 screenshots of the Master Page, before and after selecting everything and moving it up a few nudges just to illustrate the issue. Everything has moved up on the MP, as expected. But on the example resulting page of the document you can see that the text boxes for the <word> and <title> data have stayed right where they are, despite moving on the Master Page.

The only way I have found to get round this is to do the original data merge again from the original layout file. It doesn't work to try to re-merge the data into the one I've been continuing to work on. This is a huge pain because I have to copy across all the changes I made to each individual page since the original data merge into the new merged copy that Publisher makes. 

Does this make sense and has anyone also found and solved this? Am I missing something really basic? It seems like it.

Thanks,
Tony

[anto]

25 minutes ago, tonyrambler said:

I have a 100 page Publisher document which loads a portion of each page's text elements from a CSV. The data merge is working fine. When I generate the data merge, Publisher produces a new untitled document with the required 100 pages and all the generated text in place – so far so good.

The problem I'm having is that once I'm editing the new, merged document I can modify any Master Page elements – position, size, add/remove etc. – except for anything within the Data Merge Layout group. If I shuffle a DML group text box up or down the page, for instance, it changes on the Master Page but the other pages don't update. Anything I modify outside the DML group updates fine on the other pages.

I've attached 2 screenshots of the Master Page, before and after selecting everything and moving it up a few nudges just to illustrate the issue. Everything has moved up on the MP, as expected. But on the example resulting page of the document you can see that the text boxes for the <word> and <title> data have stayed right where they are, despite moving on the Master Page.

The only way I have found to get round this is to do the original data merge again from the original layout file. It doesn't work to try to re-merge the data into the one I've been continuing to work on. This is a huge pain because I have to copy across all the changes I made to each individual page since the original data merge into the new merged copy that Publisher makes. 

Does this make sense and has anyone also found and solved this? Am I missing something really basic? It seems like it.

Thanks,
Tony

Try not to use the master page for data merging, but move your fields to the first page and try to merge the data.

Leave only graphical elements on the master page.

If you want to change all the elements later after merge, give each field a different name and style for the text. After the data is merged, you can select the items by name and move them if necessary.

[tonyrambler]

Thanks Anto,

I'll try what you say on the next document, as I think I've completed this one (hopefully). I don't quite follow what you mean about the names and styles but I'll try putting the merge fields in the first page rather then the master page.

I still want to be able to change anything about the layout (including the data merged fields position, size etc.) from the master page. I'm not sure how that works if the data merge fields don't exist on the master page(?) 

 

[lepr]

21 minutes ago, tonyrambler said:

I still want to be able to change anything about the layout (including the data merged fields position, size etc.) from the master page. I'm not sure how that works if the data merge fields don't exist on the master page(?) 

Using a Master Page to contain a Data Merge Layout is sensible and can be made to work with a little trick.

For a given Data Merge Layout object, the data merging operation produces a Group on each page of the generated document. Contrary to expectation, even if that Group is inside a Master Page that is a member of each generated page, there is no linkage of any kind between that Group in one instance of the Master Page and that Group in another instance of the Master Page, as you've discovered.

The trick is to make the Data Merge Layout object be a child of some container (for example, a Layer) inside a Master Page of the generating document, and then the Master Page of each generated page will include a linked instance of that container (with an unlinked unique generated Group inside it). You can then edit the position of that container in the generated document's Master Page to make it move simultaneously in all pages of the document.

Let me know if an example will make that clearer.

 

 

[anto]

57 minutes ago, tonyrambler said:

I'll try what you say on the next document, as I think I've completed this one (hopefully). I don't quite follow what you mean about the names and styles but I'll try putting the merge fields in the first page rather then the master page.

I still want to be able to change anything about the layout (including the data merged fields position, size etc.) from the master page. I'm not sure how that works if the data merge fields don't exist on the master page(?) 

I also have a few projects where fields are placed on the master page, but they don't change when you change the master page.
An easier solution is to create styles for each text field and name all the objects and place the fields on the first page.

 

 

[tonyrambler]

Thanks Lepr,

that's kind of what I was getting round to thinking. I guess it takes a bit of thought to make sure that all the likely moves are allowed by what the outer container is like? For instance – if I want to move the <title> up and the <words> down will I need to make each have its own outer container before I start? And does the outer container give me access to more than just repositioning? Another for instance – say I want to space the <words> apart more, will that work once they are in a single outer master container or would they all have to be separately contained so that I can move each of the little master containers apart? Hope that makes sense.

Anto –

thanks, I think I see what you mean about the styling. The issue I've been coming up against most often is simple positioning changes, which I can't address through styling changes.

[anto]

9 minutes ago, tonyrambler said:

thanks, I think I see what you mean about the styling. The issue I've been coming up against most often is simple positioning changes, which I can't address through styling changes.

you can select paragraph style and change any options inside style settings. Disable Baseline grid also.

[lepr]

1 hour ago, tonyrambler said:

that's kind of what I was getting round to thinking. I guess it takes a bit of thought to make sure that all the likely moves are allowed by what the outer container is like? For instance – if I want to move the <title> up and the <words> down will I need to make each have its own outer container before I start? And does the outer container give me access to more than just repositioning? Another for instance – say I want to space the <words> apart more, will that work once they are in a single outer master container or would they all have to be separately contained so that I can move each of the little master containers apart? Hope that makes sense.

That flexibility can be achieved, again using a DML in a Master Page, but my solution involves AD's Symbols or AP's Links functionality instead of a container object for an entire DML. Symbols or Links are available in APub if your machine also has a licensed installation of AD or AP, respectively.

I have to leave for a few hours, but will help later today if still required.

[tonyrambler]

Hi Lepr,

this sounds really helpful. I have the full suite, so anything's possible. I'm deep into this current project, which is throwing up other challenges all the way through (in more than one software type) so my brain is too full to figure out what your approach is just yet, but it will be very good to know.

👍

[lepr]

1 hour ago, tonyrambler said:

it will be very good to know

Here's an example. Inside the Master Page is a DML whose content is a Symbol named record which contains the text frames with fields. The DML is actually off the page and another instance of the record Symbol is on the page. The video shows how to edit all generated pages simultaneously.

generator with symbol.afpub

 

 

[tonyrambler]

Hi Lepr,

that's a brilliant solution, I never would have thought of that 🙏 . I've saved the file and video and I'll use it for the next project in a day or two.

Thanks and very best wishes 
Tony