6 Replies Latest reply: Jun 23, 2014 4:19 AM by Obi-wan Kenobi

Text Frame Auto-size and Data Merge

InDesign for RF Mar 12, 2013 4:06 PM

I have the sneaky suspicion that this isn't something that has been fixed in ID yet. I have been struggling with this ever since CS4.

The document I'm designing is a directory much like the old church directories from 20 years ago. I'm Using Data Merge to pull data from a csv into a single text frame like so:

<<Surname>>, <<HusbandWife>>

<<Children>>

<<Address>>

<<CityStateZip>>

<<Country>>

<<Email>>

<<Phone>>

The Children field varies from no lines to 4 or so lines, so I have auto-size enabled for the frame. The idea from there is to use Data Merge to fill the pages in column format. I have used TypeFi Auto-fit in the past and then Distribute Spacing from the Align Panel on each column, because Data Merge didn't figure the height of the text frame after TypeFi Auto-fit was done. Preview works great for a single record. However, when previewing a whole page or creating with Data Merge, everything is all mis-aligned. I figured that CS6 had fixed this problem by moving TypeFi Auto-fit into ID, but I can't find anything to date. Is there a way to make Data Merge align frames AFTER auto-size has done its work?

Thanks in advance,

Robert F

1. Re: Text Frame Auto-size and Data Merge

Steve Werner Mar 12, 2013 5:28 PM (in response to InDesign for RF)

If you're using InDesign CS6, the Auto-Size feature is now built in. It's in the Object > Text Frame Options > Auto Size tab.

I tried the Auto-Size feature with a little CSV file and Data Merge and it seems to be working on a very simple one-per-page merge. I'm using the Preview feature to preview the records. See the pictures below:

Here are the settings in the Text Frame Options dialog:

I'll let you try it out further to see if you have the same misalignment problems as you found with TypeFi auto-fit.

But I wouldn't be too optimistic. I'm pretty sure there were no changes to the Data Merge feature in recent versions to account for variable frame size.
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2. Re: Text Frame Auto-size and Data Merge

InDesign for RF Mar 12, 2013 5:30 PM (in response to Steve Werner)

Hello Steve,

Thank you for the quick reply. I am doing multiple records per page.
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3. Re: Text Frame Auto-size and Data Merge

Steve Werner Mar 12, 2013 5:55 PM (in response to InDesign for RF)

I tried that after I posted, and got the same result. Data Merge just can't handle it.
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4. Re: Text Frame Auto-size and Data Merge

cdflash Mar 13, 2013 5:29 AM (in response to Steve Werner)

Auto-size was built with apps in mind for liquid layout, and I don't think it was built for this purpose. Similarly, if placing inline graphics into auto-size frames that use fit frame to images, the merge works 1-up but absolutely fouls up on multiple records per page.

If all that is being done is merging text to ultimately merge into one large textbox, Loic Aigon made a solution that received some good press via InDesignSecrets: http://indesignsecrets.com/data-merge-into-inline-anchored-objects-so-they-flow-in-a-story .php

The article's title is misleading, but ultimately his script will do the impossible - it will merge many data records within the one text frame. This eliminates the need in this instance for dozens of textboxes, and the text can flow in one story.
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5. Re: Text Frame Auto-size and Data Merge

alanomaly Jun 23, 2014 3:11 AM (in response to InDesign for RF)

I had the same problem as posted here. In the end, what worked for me was rebuilding and rethinking the layout so that the data merge content went into table cells in a table rather than auto-fit frames and anchored objects in a story.

Table cells seem to work fine with data merge content, resizing exactly as expected with none of the weird bouncing around or overlapping as seen here. They're not the easiest things to work with, but there's a lot of control in there.
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6. Re: Text Frame Auto-size and Data Merge

Obi-wan Kenobi Jun 23, 2014 4:19 AM (in response to alanomaly)

Hi,

Take a look to: De vrais tableaux Indesign en fusion de données avec un script.

on Scriptopedia, Loïc Aigon's web site, probably one of the best and clever french "automatiseurs" ! [ Hi Loïc! ]
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