Extending the Power of Publishing™

DesignMerge Pro Tutorial 2 - Postcard

This tutorial covers additional capabilities of the DesignMerge Pro software. The sample document consists of a two-page postcard that has several variable elements, including text and pictures. You will use DesignMerge Rules to change the styling of variable text and to change the color of frames while merging. This tutorial also introduces you to using a DesignMerge Rule to show layers while merging. Additionally, you will learn how to apply the DesignMerge CopyFit feature to fit variable text within a text frame automatically while merging.

TOPICS COVERED IN THIS TUTORIAL

INTRODUCING THIS TUTORIAL

This tutorial will merge variable data records from a comma-separated data file into a two-page document.

Sample Document

The name of the sample document for this tutorial is Postcard.indd and it exists in the 2) Postcard Tutorial folder. The document is a two-page layout for direct mail postcards.

The front of the postcard, shown below, requires Variable Text Links and one Variable Picture Link.

The back of the postcard, shown below, has Variable Text Links for a mailing address, requires a Variable Text Link for a First Name, and also displays an empty space for content from one of the hidden layers in the document.

Sample Data File

The sample data file for this tutorial is a comma-separated text file named Postcard-Data.csv in the 2) Postcard Tutorial folder. This data file contains eight records that each contain 16 fields of data. Below is a picture of this data in a table format:

VIEWING THE DDF

The DDF for this document has already been set up. Whenever you open a document that already contains Variable Links, then the document’s DDF has already been set up. Do not run Setup on this tutorial’s document. Running Setup would reset all of the DDF’s settings, including its definitions of Variable Links and Rules. If the document already contains Variable Links, resetting the document’s DDF could cause the document to encounter errors when merging.

View the DDF’s Settings

You can view which settings have been applied to a document’s DDF at any time. For example, to view this tutorial’s settings, follow the steps below:

  1. From the DesignMerge menu, select Setup > Data Source Definitions.
    This opens the Data Source Definitions (DDF) dialog window, as shown below:
  2. To select a Data File, click the Select button.
    DesignMerge prompts you to select the data file for this DDF. For this tutorial, select the Postcard-Data.csv file in the 2) Postcard Tutorial folder, and then click the Open button to complete the selection and return to the Data Source Definitions (DDF) dialog window, as shown below:
  3. Next, click the Edit button.
    This opens the Edit Data Source Definition dialog window, which describes a comma-separated data file, as shown below:
  4. Click the Fields button to view the list of fields.
    The DDF describes 16 fields of data, as shown in the picture below. When ready, click Cancel to return to the Edit Data Source Definition dialog window.
  5. Click Variable Links to view the list of Variable Links.
    A Variable Link has been set up for each Field in the data file. You can click on the Name of a Variable Link in the list on the left to see that Variable Link’s settings on the right side of the dialog window. Be careful to avoid making any changes since appropriate settings have already been selected for each of these Variable Links. When ready, click OK or Cancel to return to the Edit Data Source Definition dialog window.
  6. Return to the document.
    We have finished viewing this document’s DDF settings. To return to the document, click Cancel to close the Edit Data Source Definition dialog window and then click Cancel to close the Data Source Definitions (DDF) dialog window.

PLACING VARIABLE TEXT LINKS WITH RULES FOR STYLING

The first DesignMerge Pro tutorial introduced you to placing Variable Text Links in a document and also introduced you to setting up and applying a Link Rule to add a prefix to one Text Link and a second Link Rule to set the data for another Text Link. In this tutorial, you will see how to place a Text Link that uses a Link Rule to change the style of the text when it is merged.

Preview the Statements in a Link Rule

A Link Rule named Set Text Color has already been set up in this document’s DDF. This Rule will change the color that is applied to Variable Text by applying one of the character styles that have been set up in this document. Follow the steps below to preview the statements in this Link Rule:

  1. Open the Rules dialog window.
    From the DesignMerge menu, select Setup > Rules.
  2. In the list of Rules on the left, select the Set Text Color Link Rule.
    This will display the Set Text Color Link Rule’s Statements on the right side of the Rules dialog window, as shown below:
  3. The Criteria and Actions of the first Statement will be displayed automatically.
    This Statement has been set up to apply a character style named VDP Blue Char Style when the data for a record’s Gender Variable Link contains the letter M, as shown below:
  4. Select each Statement one by one to view the full Statement in the Preview area.
    For example, select the second Statement to see the full Statement in the Preview area above the list of Statements. This Statement has been set up to apply a character style named VDP Pink Char Style when a record’s data for the Gender Variable Link contains the letter F and the data for the Kids Variable Link is less than the number 1.

    Next, select the last Statement, the Default Condition Statement, to see the full Statement in the Preview area above the list of Statements. This Statement has been set up to apply a character style named VDP Orange Char Style when none of the Rule’s previous Statements are applied to a record. The Default Condition Statement’s Action will be applied when the first Statement is false because a record’s data for the Gender Variable Link is not “M” and also the second Statement is false because a record’s data for the Gender Variable Link does not contain the letter F and the data for the Kids Variable Link is less than the number 1.
  5. To return to the document, click Cancel to close the Rules dialog window.
    In the next set of steps, you will assign Text Links that use this Set Text Color Link Rule.

Assign Text Links with a Link Rule to Apply Character Styles

The first page of the document requires Variable Text Links in several locations. Follow the steps below to assign the appropriate Variable Link and the Set Text Color Link Rule to each of these:

  1. Show the DesignMerge panel.
    To show the panel, open the DesignMerge menu and select View > DesignMerge Panel. The DesignMerge panel is by default grouped with two other DesignMerge panels, the Page & Frame Rules panel and the CopyFit panel. Note the DesignMerge panel will not display a Style menu if the Price Style optional module has not been included in your product order.
  2. Optionally, set InDesign to show hidden characters.
    This viewing option will allow you to see exactly which characters you are selecting for a new Text Link. To select this option, open the InDesign Type menu and select Show Hidden Characters.
  3. Use the InDesign Type tool to select the “First” text in the coupon.
    This text is located on the right side of the document, as shown below:
  4. Using the DesignMerge panel, assign the First Link and the Set Text Color Rule.
  5. You will see two green underscores marking this new Text Link.
    If you do not see any underscores, confirm your InDesign Screen Mode is set to Normal. Two green underscores are displayed to indicate this is a Text Link that is using a Link Rule, as shown below:
  6. Next, use the InDesign Type tool to select the “Last” text in the coupon.
  7. Using the DesignMerge panel, assign the Last Link and the Set Text Color Rule.
  8. You will now see two green underscores marking this new Text Link.
    Again, two green underscores are displayed to indicate this is a Text Link that is using a Link Rule, as shown below:
  9. Use the InDesign Type tool to select the “Tagline” text.
  10. Assign the Link named Tagline and the Rule named Set Text Color.
  11. You will now see two green underscores marking this new Text Link.

PLACING A VARIABLE TEXT LINK ON A PATH

In addition to placing a Variable Text Link inside a text frame, you can also place a Variable Text Link on a path.

Assign a Variable Link to Text on a Path

Follow the steps below to assign a Variable Link to text on a path:

  1. Use the InDesign Type tool to select the “First” text on a path.
    Take care to keep the “…” characters outside of your selection, as shown below:
  2. On the DesignMerge panel, select the First Link and select None for the Rule.
  3. Click Assign on the panel.

  4. You will see one green underscore marking this Text Link on a path.
    The underscore should appear only under the letters “First” and should not appear under the “…” characters, as shown below:

ASSIGNING A VARIABLE PICTURE LINK

The first page of this tutorial also requires a Variable Picture Link. The document’s DDF has a Variable Link named Main Graphic and the Field for this Variable Link contains the names of various files (front_female.eps, front_male.eps, and front_family.eps).

Assign a Variable Link for the Main Graphic

To assign the Main Graphic Variable Link to the picture frame on the first page of the document, follow the steps below:

  1. Use the InDesign Selection tool to select the appropriate frame.
    Select the frame for the main graphic on the left side of the first page of the document, as shown below:
  2. Use the DesignMerge panel to tag this picture frame with the Main Graphic Link.
    On the DesignMerge panel, select Main Graphic from the Link menu, select None from the Rule menu, and click Tag Pic.
  3. The DesignMerge panel now displays green bars.
    If the Variable Link was successfully assigned, then the panel should now display a set of green bars above and below its row of buttons. Additionally, when InDesign is showing frame edges (View > Extras > Show Frame Edges), a small non-printing green icon will be displayed to indicate the picture frame has a Variable Link assigned to it, as shown below:

USING A FRAME RULE TO CHANGE COLORS

As introduced in the first DesignMerge Pro tutorial, you can also set up and apply Frame Rules to change the appearance of a frame. In this tutorial, you will assign a Frame Rule named Set Frame Color to change the color of frames.

View a Rule

A Frame Rule named Set Frame Color has already been set up in this document’s DDF. To view its Statements, follow the steps below:

  1. Open the Rules dialog window.
    From the DesignMerge menu, select Setup > Rules.
  2. In the list of Rules on the left, select the Set Frame Color Frame Rule.
  3. Click the View button on the bottom right area of the Rules dialog window.
  4. Review the information provided in the View Rule dialog window.
    The View Rule dialog window displays the Statements that have been set up in the selected Rule. Each Statement will apply one of the document’s color swatches based on a record’s Gender and Kids data, as shown below:
  5. When ready, click OK to return to the Rules dialog window.
  6. Click Cancel to return to the document.
    Since we are not making any changes to this document’s Rules, click Cancel to close the Rules dialog window. In the next set of steps, you will assign the Set Frame Color Frame Rule to frames in the document.

Assign a Frame Rule

Follow the steps below to assign the Set Frame Color Frame Rule to a frame on the first page of the document:

  1. Use the InDesign Selection tool to select the blue frame beneath the coupon.
    This frame is on the right side of the first page of the document, as shown below:
  2. Show the DesignMerge Page & Frame Rules panel.
    If the panel is not showing, open the DesignMerge menu and choose View > Rules Panel. The Frame & Page Rules panel provides options to tag a frame or a page with a Rule, as shown below:
  3. Choose Set Frame Color from the Rule menu on the panel.
  4. Click Tag Frame to assign this Rule to the selected frame in the document.
    If the Frame Rule was successfully assigned, the panel will display blue lines above and below the buttons on the panel, as shown below:
  5. Show frame edges to see a Frame Rule indicator on this frame.
    Additionally, you can choose to have the document show frame edges (View > Extras > Show Frame Edges) to see an indicator near the top right edge of the frame to indicate this frame has been tagged with a Frame Rule, as shown below:

    Note there is content layered on top of this blue frame that is hiding a portion of this indicator. If you temporarily move the content, then you can view the indicator in its entirety, as shown below (remember to move the content back before continuing):

PREVIEWING DATA MERGED INTO THE DOCUMENT

Now that you have assigned Variable Links and Link Rules to content on the first page of this tutorial’s document, you may prefer to preview merging data into the document to confirm these new Variable Link and Link Rule assignments are being applied satisfactorily.

Preview Data

Save the document with the changes you have made and then follow the steps below:

  1. Select Merge from the DesignMerge menu (or click Merge on the DesignMerge panel).
    This opens the DesignMerge dialog window, as shown below:
  2. For the Records settings: Select All, Skip Header Row, and Step by: 1.
  3. For the Action, select Data Preview.
  4. For the Options, use the same settings as in the previous tutorial.
    Select Off for CopyFit, and select Standard Mode for Rules.
  5. Click Start and, if prompted for the data file, select Postcard-Data.csv.
  6. Review the Data Preview results.
    DesignMerge merges the first record into the document, as shown below: