I’m hoping someone here has experience setting large documents from Excel document data, because I’ve never done it!
I have been tasked to design a 500 page ad directory (print). CC2014/15
The content comes from a single Excel file, but I’m 100% sure I don’t want to be importing it as a table, and ideally I want it to automatically format itself.
— I’m pretty sure I/m capable of creating nested styles that formats the listings as they are pretty similar (need to check if they have identical setup), but I’m not sure how to deal to the Excel file, or how best to import the data into InDesign efficiently.
As it’s 500 pages I’m thinking I ought to break it into separate books (?) to ensure InDesign doesn’t bust a gut. Do I just create a 50 page document and import my CSV into it? Can the text overflow be threaded in the the next 50 page document like threading a text frame across a single document? There aren’t any obvious breaks inside the document — it’s pretty monotonous!
Also, a listing (name, address, contact details, description) cannot break a column (the page is split into 4 columns).
How does one add that into the paragraph style/nested styles? Obviously I don’t want to have to manually tweak all 500 pages. I’m familiar with the ‘Keep’ options in the paragraph styles, but I’m not quite sure how to implement it in this instance.
And each listing appears in an index at the back of the book. Some listings appear more than once in the directory and will be needed to be indexed twice. I’ve a hunch I’m going to need some pretty competent indexing tool/script. I’ve been searching this site and come across mention of IndexMatic (2008) but in internet years that is the stone age (and CC+ doesn’t get a mention). Is it still the go-to?
If anyone can point me in the direction of any answers to any of these questions I’d be most grateful, I realise I’m asking a lot but in all my years (15+) I’ve never been asked to design anything like this an I realise there have to be some efficiencies that production guys know about otherwise this will take well over a month to complete. I am re-reading InDesign Magazine #65 (Long Documents) in the hope I can glean more knowledge from that, but it seems light on the importing the data bit.
On the plus side I did learn (from this months podcast) how to add the shading behind the section title and not have it extend beyond the frame (perfect timing David and Anne-Marie thanks!) so that’d going to be a piece of cake.
Caspian
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