From time to time, I hear the question along the lines of “how to I get Data Merge to put the next records in the same textframe during an InDesign Data Merge?” Well, if you’re expecting to do this procedure in one step, you are going to be disappointed because there is no one-click, turnkey solution to do this in Adobe InDesign itself.
That does not mean that accomplishing this task is impossible, in fact it can be done, and in Episode 16 of the Colecandoo Youtube videos, I outline several methods of how to accomplish this task, such as:
- Merge in Microsoft Word beforehand and import into InDesign as a regular text import;
- Merge in InDesign using the multiple record feature and use one of three scripts to re-thread the text so that it can be combined into one textframe;
- Use a script from Ozalto that performs this task with almost no effort;
- Venture into the rabbit-hole that is XML publishing; or
- Consider one of the half-dozen paid plug-ins that are dedicated to the production of catalogues.
The video demonstrates several scripts that are absolutely essential for this task, as well as a bonus script that will help in everyday InDesign use:
- Jongware’s merge frames javascript for InDesign;
- AJAR Productions’ merge textframes javascript for InDesign;
- Rorohiko’s textstitch plug-in for InDesign;
- Ozalto’s inlinemerge script for InDesign;
- The “fit frame” context menu additions to Adobe InDesign (site is in Russian);
- Roland Dreger’s TXT to XML javascript (site is in German).
This is a question that comes up often on various forums, and I feel that by showing how to accomplish this task through a video tutorial that it makes it easier to understand why this task needs to be done differently to Data Merge campaigns related to direct mail items or the creation of business cards.