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[Implemented] Data merge


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1+ for Data merge.

But mates, Indesign Data merge is not the best, for sure!!! Comunity is complainig about it long time ago. So, if you wish to do a bit better, you must read Adobe forums and see what users ask for ;)

Your product have a lot more of clever solutions than Adobe one. Keep in this way mates!

I have purchased Designer and Photo for my personal use. Maybe some day my boss take it in account and bought for work, too.

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Downloaded the trials for all three apps today. Loved them so much I almost pulled the trigger to purchase until I realized Publisher didn't have data merge.

Unfortunately, data merge is imperative to my business (text & image merging) so add me to the list of people eagerly awaiting this feature.

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I think at this point our best / only bet is to do it ourselves via the InDesign XML import. 

A python script that repeats over a certain pattern over and over is not hard to find, even if you’re new to scripting. Someone can probably make a dedicated one and put it on gumroad. 

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52 minutes ago, Frank Jonen said:

A python script that repeats over a certain pattern over and over is not hard to find, even if you’re new to scripting. Someone can probably make a dedicated one and put it on gumroad. 

Why XML import and a script? If in ID, use XLS, CSV and data merge.

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On 4/9/2020 at 11:13 AM, Wosven said:

Why XML import and a script? If in ID, use XLS, CSV and data merge.

For the simple reason that InDesign XML doesn't require InDesign, it's XML. You can create and modify it in any text editor. 
This means you can create hundreds of different XML documents based on your data set. These just have to be parsed by Affinity Publisher.

I never said this is a great route, but it's the only one we have with Publisher.

 

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34 minutes ago, Frank Jonen said:

For the simple reason that InDesign XML doesn't require InDesign, it's XML.

Ok, I thought you were talking about using inDesign. We've got scripts to create INDD documents with applied styles to the right data extracted from a huge database, parsing XML data though XSLT in ID, and it's a nighmare to maintain, modify or debug. If possible, it's easier to use data merge when they are already processed.

Being able to import data and use scripts are very usefull. But I suspect it'll come later, since it means keeping updated a lot of documentation. The apps need to be stable first.

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I agree - I had to re-install PagePlus9 to make an address book. If PagePlus was too simplistic or whatever caused it to be replaced by serif publisher yet has a feature so requested, there is something wrong. If the simple program can do it...man has walked on the moon, surely the more advanced software can also manage.

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Vote for this option too. Would be great if it could have an option for embeddable template blocks to create order forms. For example, section one in an order form use a column style with product thumbnail and data, then section 2 will use a list/table style [Column A - checkbox] [Column B - Quantity Textbox] [Column C - Part Number] [Column D - Product Description] [Column E - Pricing] ... and so on.

So each block should be able to be set up by: Template URL, Data File and Image Directory.

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1 minute ago, thsjstin said:

The fact that they haven't done data merge yet gives me hope that it will exceed InDesign's implementation (like, say, allowing for text/object/background colors to be included in the data).

This is a deal-breaker for me at the moment. :(

That is a peculiar assumption. I have said this before in this thread, I think data merge has to come after they fix Publishers horrible handling of PDF's. Many people will use a placed PDF and merge addresses on to them. This will be a nightmare as it is with Publisher trying to make PDF's editable and unable to use embedded fonts. That being said, not sure why this would be a deal breaker, the software is incredible cheap for what you get and I do think it is a good idea to play around with it, learn what it can and cannot do. By the time it is ready for the big leagues you will understand the applications and be much faster to migrate from Adobe. 

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Well, first, like I said, it's a hope, not an assumption. ;)

I think making data merge reliant on a PDF fix is an odd assumption, personally. The two don't really have anything to do with each other, so I would be surprised if it's even necessarily the same engineers working on the two features. 

It's not a dealbreaker for affinity in general. I already own Photo and Design on both PC and iPad. They're great. It's just a dealbreaker for my being able to use Publisher remotely full-time, despite the very-cool StudioLink feature. If I have a Creative Cloud account anyway, there's just no reason I'd use Publisher instead of InDesign at the moment. *shrug*

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2 hours ago, thsjstin said:

InDesign's implementation (like, say, allowing for text/object/background colors to be included in the data).

There's an important feature in ID that permit to do so much more: the scripts. If the main feature is here, you can have plugins or sripts to manipulate the data, the frames, pages, etc.
For complexe projects, that's important and usefull to know someone able to do those and add the tools needed. There's also a lot of scripts or plugins available, free or not.

If you're lucky, you can have someone developping the tools/scripts you need.
If not, you need to search available tools and develop your own worflow using them to obtain the same result.

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On 4/20/2020 at 2:09 PM, thsjstin said:

Well, first, like I said, it's a hope, not an assumption. ;)

I think making data merge reliant on a PDF fix is an odd assumption, personally. The two don't really have anything to do with each other, so I would be surprised if it's even necessarily the same engineers working on the two features. 

It's not a dealbreaker for affinity in general. I already own Photo and Design on both PC and iPad. They're great. It's just a dealbreaker for my being able to use Publisher remotely full-time, despite the very-cool StudioLink feature. If I have a Creative Cloud account anyway, there's just no reason I'd use Publisher instead of InDesign at the moment. *shrug*

Data merge is not reliant on a PDF fix but many people place a designed PDF in Indesign and then do a data merge using the PDF as a shell. If all your files are native in Publisher no issue, if you are doing a data merge with supplied PDF's then there is an issue. This is why I would want the PDF issues fixed before moving to data merge as I think PDF's are used my many who are doing data merges. 

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Bonjour,

je rejoins le mouvement.
Un grand OUI à la fusion de données.

Un grand OUI à tous les ajouts qui permettent d'automatiser/unifier les tâches répétitives :
scripts, grep, styles grep, styles imbriqués, le livre pour le foliotage et l'uniformisation des styles et gabarits et l'export global d'un pdf...

Edited by uneMule

Toujours pas !
Windows 10 Pro 21H2 - Intel Core i7-3630QM CPU @ 2.40GHz - 16 Gb Ram - GeForce GT 650M - Intel HD 4000
Affinity Photo | Affinity Designer | Affinity Publisher | 2

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On 4/14/2020 at 8:08 PM, Frank Jonen said:

Swift seems like a nicer looking PagePlusX when I compare your screenshots with their site.

I wouldn't be so quick to make that comparison.

Swift Publisher is missing some very basic features such as vertical alignment of text within a text box (it won't automatically center it vertically for example).

It has no professional standards-based PDF output capabilities (PDF/X, etc.), no equivalent to "global colors", ...

It is a very basic consumer-oriented layout program.  It is nice for what it is, but a substitute for a professional layout tool it is not.

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