Hello,
We are using a variable data software that works with InDesign, called XMPie.
We have 10 Mac-based workstations running Adobe Creative Suite, and we have a single version of XMPie that is tied to one workstation (on a PC) and while we find the software powerful, it is also slow.
Most of the features of the software can be replicated using InDesign’s Data Merge, however there is one feature that we cannot find a work around.
When fitting data from Excel, we often run into InDesign text fields that have dedicated space for person’s first name <fname> but only have so much given space for it. When a person’s name is too long, InDesign will force a line break or (if the text box is too small) it will simply force the text to be overset. I would like to be able to control horizontal scaling of the text. Problem is, we can do this manually, but when there are thousands of records, with multiple pages, this becomes an impossible task. I’d like to find an automatic way to scale text horizontally to fit into a text box ONLY when the name is too long to fit using current character/paragraph style settings.
I realize this might not be possible, but any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I can’t seem to find any help on this topic, you’re my last line of hope. If InDesign Secrets contributors and visitors can’t help me, than I’m stuck using XMPie forever :)
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