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• • June 12, 2013 at 2:50 am #33876
    Craig Robertson

    Member

    Hi,

    I’m using Indesign to send letters using data merge. I have always used MS Word for this kind of thing but my job is now wanting to utilise Indesign for this.

    My question is, In word there is a feature called “If Then Else”, which basically gives out variable text based on whatever is in the spreadsheet. For example, If there is a column within the data spreadsheet for “Country”, I could put in a command to output text only for “Scotland”.

    Is there a plugin which I could buy for Indesign which gives the same features as this? or is there a feature within Indesign already which would enable me to do this.

    The thing i’m working on is pretty large scale, so would mean changing text on the whole of 1 page based on the data given.

    Thanks

  • June 12, 2013 at 6:12 am #33878
    David Blatner

    Keymaster

    Data Merge is very basic, so it does not have features like that. Some third-party plug-ins give you many more options. For example, InData from emsoftware.com is very good at merging with if/then and other commands.

  • June 19, 2013 at 5:26 pm #33980
    Turbocator

    Member

    You could use a database app like FileMaker Pro to do the if/then/else, then export the text as you need it. (Maybe even in Xcel, but I don’t do spreadsheets, so I’m not sure.)

    I use FM to parse the data file of 25,000 university students, then export it all with the tags included… I can do the 200 directory pages in about two hours (and most of that time is waiting for ID to flow the pages, or for them to print. I do the same with a faculty/staff/dept/org database with 9,000 plus entries in a table.

  • August 8, 2013 at 5:49 am #64745
    Colin Flashman

    Member

    I know this post is a few weeks old by now but thought i’d add my buck o’five.

    As David has said, Data Merge is very basic and doesn’t have the “if then else” feature that Word has (yes, word has something that indesign hasn’t got!)

    David has mentioned one plug-in but the full list of plug-ins is available from https://www.adobe.com/products/indesign/indepth.displayTab3.html . Not all of the solution providers make data merge style plug-ins, so its a case of sifting through the page to see what you want.

    My own personal experience has involved using a plug-in called XMPie. I last used this plug-in with CS5 so don’t know if it will work with CS6/CC. The plug-in has good features but is expensive and can be years before the ROI is achieved. I also have no affiliation with XMPie so this isn’t an ad for them either.

    There are other VDP (variable data printing) solutions outside of InDesign but again, don’t expect a ROI anytime soon. Examples would be DirectSmile or Print Shop Mail.

    For the last five years i’ve made Data Merge do amazing things that normally require plug-ins, but it means a lot of thinking ahead; letting excel or some other database do the hard work first; and be supported by reliable imposition and printing software.

  • August 8, 2013 at 6:52 am #64747
    David Blatner

    Keymaster

    For anyone who doesn’t recognize Colin’s name attached to the previous forum post, he’s the author of the feature article in InDesign Magazine issue 52, which focused on amazing tips and tricks that every Data Merge user needs to know.

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