Data Merge (ID) then Split Documents with Filename

Hey everyone,
I'm using InDesign and Data Merge to create business cards for our printer, but we of course have the recepients proof them first.
I was wondering if there was a way where after the Data Merge, I could separate every 2 pages into their own PDF (front and back of card).
Even more awesome would be if the PDF filename could be "<<FirstName>><<LastName>>-BC-proof.pdf"
Thanks!

Created this desription for someone looking to help, may clarify:
So here’s my workflow and goal result for these files.
I am creating special business cards for a handful of people in our company. And since our print vendor usually handles proofs and approvals per individual, I’ve got to try and replicate that process for this piece.
I created an InDesign file with the fields I need to populate from a spreadsheet with all their contact information.
Data Merge works like it should, and my merged document contains the front and back of each card for each individual in the handful of people. But now, I need to send out a copy of each for the recipient to approve.
Another helper here has been manually splitting the documents and sending them out for approval, but I’d very much like to streamline the process (from merge, to proof, to approval, to printer). And the printer will likely be needing these in separate files for shipping reasons.
So now that I have a merged document, my goal would be to export every 2 pages with a filename of the “<<LastName>><<FirstName>>-COE_BC_PROOF.pdf” so our helper can get them sent out for approval.
A second step may be to re-do this process with bleed for the printers (or if that seems too much, the proofs will just include bleed and what not so we can forward them straight to the printer).
So wadda ya think?

Similar Messages

InDesign Data Merge w/Multiple Page Document

I am working to print a multiple-page newsletter, and printing the mailing information using a Data Merge in InDesign CS4 (PC), with the intent of printing this in-house to send to our members. (My office has been doing this successfully for years using Publisher, but I insisted we update to InDesign.)
I have the document ready, and I have the Data Source information (set up in tab-delimited (.txt) text format).
After I have selected the Data Source (Window > Automation > Data Merge), inserted the Data Fields, and then Created Merged Document, I wind up with multiple versions of the Document; one for each person we are sending the newsletter to!
I was working with our printer technician to solve the issue, but his sources told him that the only way to do this was by using one document as the newsletter master and another document as the Data Merge document, and doing a little magic thru the PostScript driver in the printer.
(Specifically: the document is letter-sized, set to print as a booklet. The work-around involves copying and pasting these pages into a new tabloid-sized document, creating another blank tabloid-sized document that has only the Data Merge info in the proper place, printing the cover with this Data Merge separately, loading that into a drawer, and printing the new document and wrapping it with the pre-printed cover.)
1 - What am I doing wrong that gives me over 800 InDesign documents for this newsletter?
2 - Is there a way for me to print this without the work around?

That is what Indesign does when it does a data merge, it creates copies of the document and there's no way to change this. Have you tried exporting to PDF (In CS4 you can do this in one step from the original) and printing? I've never had anyone confirm it definitively but I'm pretty sure that the PDF created will be an 'optimized' one, meaning that when it sends it off to a compatible printer the images will be sent once and cached, with only the text that changes being sent separately.
Definitely worth comparing it to Publisher for speed anyway, Office programs can merge straight to the printer, but in effect they're doing the same thing. There are programs out there for doing far fancier stuff than data merge, probably the best is XM Pie, but unless you've got a printer that recognises their language they're a waste of time in this circumstance anyway.

Data Merge then Split Documents

Hey everyone,
I'm using InDesign and Data Merge to create business cards for our printer, but we of course have the recepients proof them first.
I was wondering if there was a way where after the Data Merge, I could separate every 2 pages into their own PDF (front and back of card).
Even more awesome would be if the PDF filename could be "<<FirstName>><<LastName>>-BC-proof.pdf"
Thanks!

in Acrobat X, there is a feature under the pages panel called split pages which lets users split a PDF into various sizes, whether it be based on amount of pages or file size.
As for titling the PDFs appropriately, the above method won't do that, BUT i'm sure i've read about this somewhere before on this very forum. Do a search of this forum for Data Merge Split or something similar... if I find it I'll post it here.

In Design Data merge into separate pdf files with variable data name

Hi all, thank you for taking the time to read this.
Here's what I have.
I've created a file in indesign using a 65 page document.
With this document I've set it up to have specific data in certain areas with data merge. I have that part setup and it works fine.
When I go to export PDF it creates one massive pdf document with all the variable data in it. However here is the scenario I would like.
1. Indesign to create a separate pdf file for each record. So in this example it would be 100 different 65 page pdfs since it should have different pdfs for each record and there are 100 records in the csv.
2. The pdf should be named after each variable record. For example record one says name "Joe", record 2 name "Frank". So it should create joe.pdf, frank.pdf etc.
How can I accomplish this?

I don't know if this script works in CS4 or not:
http://indesignsecrets.com/page-exporter-utility-peu-5-script-updated-for-cs3.php

Data merge - multiple records per document

I am trying to do a data merge to have 4 addresses per page. I have my main page setup with the merge fields. When I select create merged document, the "records per Document Page" drop down is greyed out. I cannot select multiple records.
What am I missing?
Thanks,
Phil

I guess I still do not understand how this works. I would like the multiple addresses to print 4-up on a page so that I can cut a letter size page in to fourths for postcards. The attached image shows my main document.
Phil

Splitted document with folio number

Hi everyone. We have pdf file contain 600 pages. We using ART splitter for split the document as chapter level. We getting separated file start page no 1. We need splitted file start with folio number as in pdf file. Help to get splitted file with folio number.

I have reset the number range and it is now first number in the number range. With the same number I am able to create document through front end transaction.
So I do not think that is the reason for the error.

Data Merge issue: Rejects CSV document

I've been using the same business card template for a while now, and it's worked seamlessly with the CSV files I've been getting from our HR department.
After switching to CS3, something went wrong. ID is rejecting the CSV file when I "select data source" in the DataMerge window.
I thought it might be the new version...maybe they switched something up....but I can merge the old CSV's fine, and the new CSV also does not work in CS2.
So I think the problem lies in the CSV file, but I'm not sure where to look, or what to look for.
Has anybody ever had any similar issues?

Perhaps where you have it open is significant.
I can create a CSV file, open and edit it in TextPad, and while it's still open, select it as a data source in InDesign.
Just check.
yep, did it again.
k

InDesign Data Merge - Data Grouping or Page Breaks

I'm working on a plant catalog for a landscaper. I want to group the plants in the catalog by their plant type (i.e. Groundcovers, Trees, Shrubs, etc). Each plant name in the data source is assigned a plant type and I've sorted the data so the plant types are grouped together. I'm successfully using data merge to create a document with multiple records and I want to use the "Plant Type" as a header per group of plants that match that type. I'd be very happy if I could also create a page break between plant types. Is there a way to accomplish this with InDesign? I can accomplish this with Word's data merge but I'd much rather use InDesign.
Additionally, I'm currently using a text variable at the top of the page and thought this would be the solution to my problem but I'm only able to set this up using the "First on Page" option. This doesn't work well because I frequently have items at the bottom of the page that aren't in the same category as the first item on the page. I'm basically running a merge for every plant type then putting the separate documents together in a PDF... its a little time consuming but not impossible.
I hope I've explained my situation clearly. Any guidance will be appreciated.

Data Merge is very primitive. It doesn't do anything but put unlinked frames with data on the page.
That said, there are scripts, such as the text liner at Rorohiko.com that will link the frames in logical sequence, and paragraph styles can be set to start on next page, or you can add anther field to the data file and put a symbol or text sting into it only where you want a page break, then do a find change and repalce with the break after the merge.
Are you doing a lot of this? There are catlog pugins which might make your life a lot easier, but they're pricey.

Using Data Merge for filenames?

First off, I'm running Indesign CS5 on Snowleapord.
I've used Data Merge to create one file with 45 pages. Each page is a form letter, with the first line being the persons name.
What I need to do is save each of those pages as its own Jpg file, (Easy to do, just export>Jpg)
Where I'm having trouble is in the filename scheme. If it saves each page as "formletter-1" "formletter-2" I end up not knowing who's letter it is.
I'd like to name the files for the name of the person in the letter, the <<Name>> field from data merge. There are FAR to many to do this by hand.
Any suggestions?
Thanks so much.
PS
I don't know anything about scripting. I hope somebody can write one or provide me with a link to a solution.

I am trying to do the same thing.
I have an Indesign document with data merge information on it. I can successfully get it to create either a multipage indesign document or PDF.
I now want to name PDF with one of my field names and create single named PDF files.
I tried clicking on the above link be the website has no information on it.
I am using a mac and unfortunately know nothing about scripting.
Many thanks if someone can help.

Data Merge with books

I am working on making a book with InDesign and have prepared with data merge a sequence of images to appear on each right page. If I create a merged document, it works fine as long as the target is a single document. I have many documents I wish to apply the sequence to, in a book. If I try to make a merged document with the book, it only merges a single document. How can I apply data merge to the entire book? This is urgent.

I think you should back up and describe what you're trying to do with more detail. What Data Merge does is it creates a new InDesign document. If your document is already done and you want some way to add an image in the whitespace of your right margin on each page, then Data Merge (at least by itself) is not the tool you want to use. Have you tried it yet? Try a really simple data merge. Make a CSV with a few values, then
1) Start a blank InDesign doc
2) Select your data source from the Data Merge panel
3) Insert your placeholders
4) Create Merged Document
5) ... and watch as Data Merge makes a brand new document with your merged data. You can't use Data Merge if the chapter INDDs in your Book file are already complete.
So, if you already have a Book file and a bunch of completed chapters, then Data Merge won't work for you, without some additional steps. Maybe we can suggest a workaround? That will be hard right now, but if you tell us more about how you are using your Book file, and how many chapters you have, and et cetera, then perhaps we can come up with something better than:
1) Start a blank InDesign doc
2) Select your data source from the Data Merge panel
3) Insert your placeholders
4) Export to PDF
5) Open your first chapter file
6) Make a new layer for your image (optional)
7) Use the MultiPageImporter script to import just the pages you need for your first chapter from the PDF you made in no. 4 above
8) Save your chapter
9) Open your next chapter file
10) Go to no. 6 above, and repeat the cycle until all of your chapters have your right-hand-images
So, yeah, that would be a lot of work for a large book. But it would be less work than placing your images manually, right? We might be able to suggest something that takes even less work if we knew what you were doing.

How do I automate a large catalog with several unique sections using Data Merge and Microsoft Excel?

My boss would like me to use data merge to create a catalog with 300+ pages and unique data fields on almost every page. It is an informational catalog that would contain pictures and several unique fitment and specification fields for each product that we sell and manufacture on each page. For years the catalog was made and modified manually in quark express. Is it possible to use data merge to recreate such a complex document? Does anyone have any useful reccomendations or links for tackling this project? I really appreciate any advice or help.
Thank You,
Kevin
Message was edited by: kpalombi

Online video
http://tv.adobe.com/watch/instant-indesign/automating-a-catalog-with-data-merge/
Software
http://www.65bit.com/home/home.shtm
Data Merge Tips
http://www.theindesigner.com/blog/episode-43-data-merge-video

Crazy colored brackets in InDesign data merge document

I did a data merge on an InDesign document I'm working on and I got all these crazy colored brackets embedded throughout my document. Here's a screenshot:
What the heck is going on?

From Post 4:
//EN_UntagAllXMLElements_ACTIVE_DOCUMENT.jsx
//Authors:
//Hans Haesler
//Gregor Fellenz
//Comments by Uwe Laubender
* @@@BUILDINFO@@@ EN_UntagAllXMLElements_ACTIVE_DOCUMENT.jsx !Version! Sun Dec 01 2013 09:38:21 GMT+0100
//See: http://www.hilfdirselbst.ch/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=506568#506568
//Data for testing: http://www.hilfdirselbst.ch/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=6654;
//Posted the links to this thread in InDesign Scripting forum:
//http://forums.adobe.com/message/4983121#4983121
//Green4ever
//"Untag Frame" menu action is invalid [CS5 Win XP]
//The active document:
var d=app.documents[0];
//Hans Haesler:
//Untag all XML-Tags with exception of the root element:
d.xmlElements[0].xmlElements.everyItem().untag();
//TO GET RID OF THE ROOT ELEMENT:
//Workaround by Gregor Fellenz:
//Add a new rectangle to the document:
var tempRect = d.rectangles.add();
//Tag the rectangle with the "Root" element:
tempRect.markup(d.xmlElements[0]);
//AND HERE IS TRICK:
//Remove the rectangle:
tempRect.remove();

Data merge with football tickets. Printing causes out of memory errors. Can only print 10 at a time!

Here's the deal. Printing football tickets for the local high school. 10 tickets per 8.5 x 11 sheet. All black and white. I couldn't data merge into one whole document of tickets because it was failing to do that. So, I end up with 3 documents. First two have 50 pages of tickets and the last has 37 pages.
When I go to print, I can only print 10 pages at a time or InDesign straight up crashes or I get an "Out of Memory" error which is bull because I've got plenty of ram available (unless it's complaining about lack of HD space for some reason)
Incredibly frustrating.
Each ticket has 3 images on it. Two of the images are the same. Those two images are about 103kb .ai files. Very very simple. The other image is a TIFF that is about 76kb. So there are 1000 .ai files / document and 500 TIFFs.
Here's a video I took of it ripping: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCjvdmXuaYs&feature=c4-overview&list=UUf_1UFp80YLZJfCyIxXEg kg
Also, when printing, I have the Send Data set to Optimized Subsampling instead of "All". That's not seeming to help.
Any thoughts?
IDCS 5.5
OSX 10.8.4

I just ran a sample on my laptop.
AI file, duplicated, is 284k. Image is roughly 200k. The CSV has 2054 records, and the merged document with 10 per page is 250 megabytes. PDF is just under 50 megs.
This laptop has only 4 gigs memory but has a lot of free disk space. It took a good amount of time to do the merge, a bit longer to create the PDF-X1a PDF.
Mike

Indesign CC 9.2 crashes upon opening the data merge panel

I have a document that's in a book (of multiple files) with cross references to other documents in the book. I also have almost all the content in an inCopy assignment in order to manage multiple versions/layouts with the same content. All cross references are unlinked from inCopy as the page numbers vary from book to book.
That said, while other documents in the book work fine, this one is having issues. Whenever I try to view the data merge panel it crashes. I had a similar problem with other files where if I try to select a data merge source it would crash. I fixed the problem by saving a copy, deleting all pages from the document, selecting the data merge source (which now works with no content on the pages), then copy/pasting the content back onto the pages. Not sure why this works but it did.
The problem is that I tried the same solution on this document and now, and it worked until I tried click on the data merge panel after following those steps, inDesign crashes. If I open the data merge panel, THEN open the document, it crashes as well.
I am going to attempt to redo this with the data merge panel open while I copy/paste content back in and see if I can narrow down the problematic content if that's the issue.

I actually tried this already, it still crashes and the error is reproducible on four different computers here: 1 Mac and 3 Windows machines. I didn't even restore my old preferences, I just did the reset and it still has the issue. Note it's not crashing when I use data merge, simply when I try to view the panel.
The only thing that differentiates this document from the other ones I've had issues with that I got my work-around to fix is that the cross-references point to other documents (where the other ones I've managed to fix have cross-references within the same document).
For the sake of my sanity I may just convert the (2) cross-references to text if they are in fact the issue.

Using Indesign CS4 Data Merge on spreads in a book

I am creating a Date Book and trying to merge the dates, which are in an excel document, onto the pages of the spreads in the book using the Data Merge feature. I have a 2-page spread master page which has the dates flushed on opposite sides of the pages.
When I merge the data, I get the same date on both pages of the spread. Is there any way to get the data to change from the left to the right page so the next date appears in order?

The problem I am having is that the placement of the date (data) is in a different location from left page to the right.
As you suggest, if I make a document with 365 single pages with Master page A, apply the data merge and then Apply the Master page B to the right pages, the correct date that was merged stays where it is, but then the date on the Master "B" pages changes to the same date that is on the "A" page next to it.
The only thing I can think to do is take the date off the Master "B" page, then after I merge the data, I move the dates to the correct position on the B pages.

Data Merge (ID) then Split Documents with Filename

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