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Variable Data CSV/XML Import Issue

Community Beginner ,
Mar 13, 2018 Mar 13, 2018

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Hi there,

I have not been able to use the Variable data feature at all, cannot import any CSV or XML, all I get is an error of invalid format.

Any ideas?

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Adobe
Community Expert ,
Mar 13, 2018 Mar 13, 2018

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been through this checklist?

Merge data to create data-driven graphics through templates and variables in Illustrator

i haven't used the feature much, but just made a test CSV from scratch and it worked fine.

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Community Beginner ,
Mar 13, 2018 Mar 13, 2018

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will go trough it and try again...

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Community Beginner ,
Mar 13, 2018 Mar 13, 2018

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our file complies with the checklist.

We have done a simple CSV and it didn't even import.

can you please send me that simple file that you can import?

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Community Expert ,
Mar 13, 2018 Mar 13, 2018

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Community Beginner ,
Mar 13, 2018 Mar 13, 2018

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Thanks it did work.

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Valorous Hero ,
Mar 13, 2018 Mar 13, 2018

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Ah, curses! A woeful day, for myself - but good news for all Illustrator users!

Adobe adds a new CSV-import feature to its Illustrator variable data panel!

I guess, the VariableImporter.jsx script could still be used for auto-binding and creating the ad-hoc record names.

They even took my convention of using a "%" symbol for the graphs, and "#" for visibility! (Although, it nowhere specifies that the graphs are separate spreadsheet text files in their tutorial except for the one ambiguous screenshot & sample data).

It was a good 3-year run, which really helped introduce the variable-data workflow within Illustrator to a multitude of users and allowed me to connect with many creative professionals around the world during the creation of this script.

In the end, it gave me great experience with programming and variable-data in general and brought me much automation business.

I suppose the short 3-year timespan testifies to the power of an independent developer when prodding a large company such as Adobe with a hand-made feature to add functionality missing from one of their products.

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Valorous Hero ,
Mar 13, 2018 Mar 13, 2018

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Aha, the issue was - it only accepts Windows line-endings.

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Valorous Hero ,
Mar 13, 2018 Mar 13, 2018

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Having tested their new feature some, Ill say the VariableImporter script still has some advantages- one of which is that it imports CSVs with other line endings than Windows and it can also import TXT tab delimited files as well as semi-colon-delimited files as well, in addition to auto binding , prepending image paths and being in control of your dataset names.

if you want to give it a try, get it here:

https://github.com/Silly-V/Adobe-Illustrator/blob/master/Variable%20Importer/VariableImporter.jsx

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New Here ,
Apr 03, 2018 Apr 03, 2018

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Anybody have insight on how to make visibility work with this new feature? I can get the rest but I don't see an example of how show and hide is supposed to be formatted in a csv file. # proceeding the headers? What else?

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Valorous Hero ,
Apr 03, 2018 Apr 03, 2018

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With my script you can use "true", "false", or just have empty cells or cells with anything in them, such as "X", and it will map accordingly.

With theirs, you pretty much have to have "TRUE" or "FALSE" in your cells.

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Valorous Hero ,
Apr 03, 2018 Apr 03, 2018

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Here is Stephen's overview of the visibility variable in the VI script:

Prepression: Illustrator – VariableImporter Script Part 3 Tutorial

The official Adobe help page doesn't really say the visibility example, but it's "TRUE" or "FALSE", I'm pretty sure.

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New Here ,
Apr 03, 2018 Apr 03, 2018

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Thanks Silly-V,

I just got off the phone with adobe tech support... They have no clue. Data set? Variable? Whats that?

You are indeed correct. It must be "TRUE" or "FALSE"

I've used your variable importer for a while now. Fantastic work! Looks like I'll be sticking with it.

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Valorous Hero ,
Apr 03, 2018 Apr 03, 2018

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Great, I'll be adding some more features to it later and supporting it for users. My thought is that while they did creak open the door to variable data usage, following my precedent of making their own feature more user-friendly by building their own CSV importer, the power-users who have many such jobs will still gravitate to the VI script because it just is geared toward simplifying the other user steps one has to perform to just use variable data. For example the visibility variable and how I've made it accept any-or-no characters - it hands-down makes it easier to make the CSV in the first place. It is simply designed to try and save users some time.

Thank you for your support and continued usage- as always please make sure to log any issues into my github and as long as I'm alive I'll do my best to take care of it.

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