[Implemented] Data merge

[BoloGauranga]

5 hours ago, DanParsons said:

[...] and personally I don't care because I have full licenced Adobe products and will continue to use them until its implemented but clearly I am not the only designer asking for this feature [...]

Yep, and actually I rather would pay an extra premium just for that feature alone than stay chained to that other firm's payment model for another year.

EDIT: btw, I have to use data merge at this moment with that other software...

[Josh Mills]

I would buy a Data Merge utility product that integrated with publisher (and the other apps) if that is what it come down to otherwise I'll be left following and waiting for the feature before purchasing and learning. 

[TurboCooler]

I would like to add to the long list of people who desire data merge.  However, I would like one option further.

My use case:

1) I have a document setup with "Named" picture frames (e.g. imageplacement_01)

2) I have a folder of images, imageplacement_01...imageplacement_099)

3) I want to choose my directory and then to merge the image directory into my document.  Image frame corresponds to image name in the folder.

I have document/newsletters for various groups many in different languages.  Language words can change the size of items.  I also need images that may be different depending on the group or language.  I just want to import everything into my document.  If I can have text and images imported it would be much faster and easier to get my monthly work done.  Right now I have a mix of Adobe products and macros.  The overall content changes from month to month but the layout remains the same for the most part except for images.  I have one template that I start with.  I import everything, then I make minor adjustments.  If there is a last minute text or image change, I want to just import the change than to try and figure where everything resides over multiple documents in multiple languages.

[Lurien]

Truthfully, I've never heard of data merge before this but it seems so useful that it would be weird not to have it in a publishing application. You have my forum like... and my axe!

[ButteredLime]

Apart from importing InDesign files, this is the biggy for me. Do this and I'm completely sold!

[Juha7one]

Data merging like a boss:

• Merge from folders / files
• Merge csv, excel etc files
• Merge local databases (like Filemaker etc)
• Merge Google Sheets / Docs
• Merge SQL--databases (wordpress, woocommece.. etc)

 

[grapher]

On 9/21/2018 at 4:01 PM, 001 said:

Wow.  That is an awful lot of attitude  towards an audience who you are asking to give their time for FREE to help you evaluate your software...the fact that data merge is not included in the initial version of Publisher suggests that you may not really appreciate the needs of your market.

Well 001, DEMANDING something is not good towards software devs. Some functions are implemented, some are not, some are on todo list. 

 

On 9/21/2018 at 3:59 PM, DanParsons said:

mate, my wife is a software architect so I do know what is involved. and personally I don't care because I have full licenced Adobe products and will continue to use them until its implemented but clearly I am not the only designer asking for this feature, if you don't want to listen to your potential customers that is your prerogative.

Dan - that your wife is software engeneer is good to know. On the other hand, you dont have a clue how things work in SW DEV, as i read your posts.  If you want to pay monthly fee to adobe, its your right and decision. But demanding something in FIRST beta release, well, i think that affinity will not miss your $50. It costs more to pay time for someone to react on your posts, and on coffee spent on healing the nerves... 

Have good day
 

[JeffSure]

 I see there are many requests for data merge, and I want to add my name to the list... Yes to data merge. And thanks for a great product!

[beegeeblueboy]

You should use PagePlusX9. Data merge has been present their for ten years I believe. Why wait (and pay) for Affinity to catch up?

[vonBusing]

28 minutes ago, beegeeblueboy said:

You should use PagePlusX9. Data merge has been present their for ten years I believe. Why wait (and pay) for Affinity to catch up?

Because PagePlus has never been available for Mac.

[Burny]

vote++;

[RenWaller]

And another +1. Data merge (especially for .xls and .csv) would be an excellent addition to this already great program.

[bor]

Data Merge is a must have, so yeah +1

[undercovergypsy]

Me too - I hope to switch from QuarkXpress (which is cumbersome for me) to this product because I can use in both PC and MAC which i am forced to switch back and forth. I LOVED PagePlus and hope for all the features +. I have to have merge and I don't mind having to change a CSV file to another extension like PagePlus - But i HAVE to be able to merge and not like QXPRESS with code.

[Davidnorfolk]

Another request for data merge.

[Uncle Mez]

+1 for data merge.
make it even revolutionary than anything we have seen up to now.

Blessings !

[Blindfox0]

Hi,

For me data merge is critical, so +1 from me too 

[JET_Affinity]

On ‎9‎/‎23‎/‎2018 at 1:06 PM, Juha7one said:

Data merging like a boss:

• Merge from folders / files
• Merge csv, excel etc files
• Merge local databases (like Filemaker etc)
• Merge Google Sheets / Docs
• Merge SQL--databases (wordpress, woocommece.. etc)

 

Refreshing.

It seems that with very few exceptions, user requests for adding features to this exciting new Affinity platform are couched in "me, too" terms. ("I need this single deal-breaking feature now, just as it is in [my pet program], or I'm outta here!").

There's not really much new under the 2D graphics software sun, and hasn't been in a long time. I blame that on the continued dominance of the market by a few historic monoliths.

The good news is, almost every "me, too" feature request is a potential opportunity for breaking beyond the lockstep lethargy of current offerings. My constant hope is that the Affinity team is striving for something more innovative than the conventional wisdom standard-fare.

One of the macro consequences of the decades of micro improvements to the mainstream titles is that in today's increasingly data-driven world, publishing and illustration programs seem farther and farther behind the times.  Just another "me, too" data merge feature like those typically used for recipient address labels, etc. is already passé.

Juha7one mentioned FileMaker and made my heart sing because I've used FileMaker to build fairly ambitious fully data-driven publishing solutions. Two examples:

• A 1000-page aftermarket parts catalog, the content of which is directly and continuously updated by parts information experts, not graphic designers, using straightforward data-entry screens, designed to precisely fit and streamline their tasks. The dataset is much larger than what will fit in a thousand-page print, and includes relational tables for brand-to-brand cross-referencing, live pricing, and more. The design is built in, up-front, and is flexible. The layout assembly and export to print-ready PDFs is entirely automated, requiring no "desktop publishing" whatsoever. Workers can on-the-fly isolate focused content by section or part type, and automatically generate print-ready "extracts" from the catalog for monthly specials, trade-show handouts, etc.
• An application that empowers Dealers to automatically generate their own individualized dealership-branded sales promotions (electronic or in print, in various formats) while keeping in  full agreement with the factory branding standards. The application is a tidy six-step interface start-to-finish. Its dataset includes everything from the above-described product catalog database (access to tens of thousands of items), lookup functionality for current Dealer pricing (including a handy calculator for pricing on a per-item basis), the Dealer's Direct Mail info and indicia, and customer mail list.

Those and other projects like them have convinced me of this: It would be far easier to turn a version of FileMaker Pro into a graphically-powerful data-driven publishing platform than to turn a conventional page-layout program into a powerful data-handling solution. All that would be required is to flesh out FileMaker's Layout Mode with a few more graphics-oriented features.

I'm just an enthusiastic FileMaker user, and just mention it from that standpoint. When asked what my favorite "graphics program" of all time is, I only half-jokingly reply, "FileMaker Pro." Its approachability is well within the capabilities of most graphic designers, and for creative minds its use opens a whole world of data-driven publishing capabilities, either standalone or in conjunction with conventional graphics programs.

JET

[Old Bruce]

3 hours ago, JET_Affinity said:

It would be far easier to turn a version of FileMaker Pro into a graphically-powerful data-driven publishing platform than to turn a conventional page-layout program into a powerful data-handling solution.

Well said. I can hear the folks at FileMaker cursing you for suggesting this. [winkey-face emoticon]

[JET_Affinity]

Quote

I can hear the folks at FileMaker cursing you for suggesting this.

They've heard me (and others) suggest it multiple times before at FileMaker DevCon. A great advance in the right direction wouldn't take much more than a few enhancements to its presentation layer:

• Full display of SVG in regular Container Fields. (I mean c'mon; it's already in buttons.)
• A Bezier path tool.
• Paragraph Styles. (It already has the corollary to object styles.)
• Embed fonts. (Needed for web-centric delivery, too, which after all, is an area of high FileMaker focus.)

Oh...and "de-depricate" standalone runtimes.

I don't mean to derail the thread. At least a basic data merge feature in Affinity Publisher should of course be expected and would be better than nothing. My general points are:

• "Better than nothing" is a pretty low ambition, especially for the bent toward innovation evident in Affinity.
• The rapidly growing need for seriously data-driven graphics is much bigger than just another "mail merge" feature, and I'm not sure its answer really fits the framework of conventional page-layout software, even when used in conjunction with the comparatively cumbersome data-driven capabilities of PDF.
• For now, the combination of one's favored graphics programs and FileMaker Pro can powerfully broaden the scope of enterprising graphics people, and is more approachable than many may assume.

JET

 

[JET_Affinity]

That "PDF thing," though, may be a realistic opportunity for competitively exploiting Adobe's own lethargy. So far as I know, (I don't rent software) Illustrator and InDesign no better integrate the data fields capabilities of PDF "forms" than they did in CS6 (the latest non-rental version).

I also don't know whether the "forms" functionality of PDF is as "open" as the rest of the PDF standard in general; but I'd bet some particular enterprising software developers know (or know how to find out).

JET

[DanParsons]

On 9/24/2018 at 11:43 AM, grapher said:

Well 001, DEMANDING something is not good towards software devs. Some functions are implemented, some are not, some are on todo list. 

 

Dan - that your wife is software engeneer is good to know. On the other hand, you dont have a clue how things work in SW DEV, as i read your posts.  If you want to pay monthly fee to adobe, its your right and decision. But demanding something in FIRST beta release, well, i think that affinity will not miss your $50. It costs more to pay time for someone to react on your posts, and on coffee spent on healing the nerves... 

Have good day
 

LMAO I know exactly how things work sunshine... and FYI I AM NOT "DEMANDING" ANYTHING... if you dont want to add it to the list for future implementation that is up to you. and its not only  my £50 it will be the many other professional designers who won't bother switching because your software can't even do the most basic of tasks. so jog on

...and I might not have a clue about "SW DEV" for Affinity Publisher but clearly you dont have a clue about customer care. Personal attacks against people trying to help your business is VERY unprofessional. Good day Sir.

[vonBusing]

4 hours ago, DanParsons said:

[...] Personal attacks against people trying to help your business is VERY unprofessional. Good day Sir.

@DanParsons: It seams that you are answering to @grapher as if he was representing Serif. He is not. He is just another forum user just like you or me. Serif staff have a "staff" mark by their avatar.  "unprofessional" would really not be the word I would use to describe how they meet users questions in these forums. Since there are _a lot_ of questions/requests, they are not always able to answer/comment every single one, though.

[grapher]

On 10/12/2018 at 6:23 PM, DanParsons said:

LMAO I know exactly how things work sunshine... and FYI I AM NOT "DEMANDING" ANYTHING... if you dont want to add it to the list for future implementation that is up to you. and its not only  my £50 it will be the many other professional designers who won't bother switching because your software can't even do the most basic of tasks. so jog on

...and I might not have a clue about "SW DEV" for Affinity Publisher but clearly you dont have a clue about customer care. Personal attacks against people trying to help your business is VERY unprofessional. Good day Sir.

Erm, well, maybe you missed one little thing  im not from Serif...  

[Artzyone]

+1 vote for this and if it done with finesse then allow the program to point multi files and point to down to a single cell, but so far I like what I see in the beta but I use data merge a lot so it is crucial for me to swap InDesign out.