Plugins for Automating Catalog Production

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    • #58698
      kkorpal
      Member

      I work on a catalog that we produce every two months, what I need is to be able to link the price fields in my catalog to either an excel file or an ODBC. I have tried EasyCatalog and DataLinker so far with out any success. Easy Catalog does not retain the links from issue to issue and DataLinker was causing my entire system to crash. I have attached an link to my catalog, there are about 140 pages in each issue.

      https://issuu.com/toolmarket/do…..uced_final

      Just wondering if anyone knows of a plugin that could help me achive this. Eventually I would like to link all the data in my catalog but as of right now automating the pricing would be a huge help.

      Thanks for any help you can offer

    • #58922
      Matt Mayerchak
      Participant

      I believe InCatalog ought to work. I use InData, which doesn't have the live links, but it's great for importing the data each time.

      InCatalog is more money, but it does live updating between InDesign and your database, so it will probably pay for itself on your job. You can try it as a demo for free. The developer, Chris Ryland, is very responsive so he could probably tell you whether it will work with your workflow before you buy it.

      https://emsoftware.com/products…..emcatalog/

    • #59198
      Omar Khatib
      Member

      If you ever want to take the next step…

      I have been using Content Management Systems for the past 14 years. The system/Company I am most familiar with is Pindar Agility. Over the years I have seen other systems and they will all work, well almost all, but the one that stands out to me is Wave B.media:

      https://www.wavecorp.com/products/bmedia/

      Non of these companies actually show you much on their websites, so you do have to make a call.

      If you call Wave, tell Charlie Omar sent you :)

    • #59681
      rydesign
      Member

      I don't believe it is fair to say that EasyCatalog doesn't retain the links from issue to issue. I think EasyCatalog has worked the best for me in this situation. It might be just a matter of setting up your Library or Panel differently. I use EasyCatalog now and had used Meadows Autoprice before. I find that EasyCatalog is an amazing plug-in that I haven't even scratched the surface on. It easily does the simple linking stuff as well as flowing my entire data in a matter of minutes.

      Just chiming in to make sure EC doesn't get a bad rap.

    • #59687
      kkorpal
      Member

      Rydesign

      You are correct, after playing around with EasyCatalog for a few more weeks I was able to figure out how to make it retain the links by using the “Adopt Field” option. I would have to say that after exploring other options, I ended up coming back to EC, and in my opinion it works the best. I only wish that there was training offered on this program, it is such a huge program and I am sure I am still missing things.

    • #59802
      rydesign
      Member

      Good to hear you came back… hahaha. There is training out there. I personally haven't taken any of the sessions as they are a bit on the pricey side. If you are truely interested you should look here https://www.avatardps.com/index……  This is official distributor in the US and they offer online training sessions.

      My biggest problem with using the program now is trying to get the different departments here to format the spreadsheets in a more correct way. Flowing all the data in doesn't work if 10% of the data is missing/incorrect. I am still learning the program too but if you have any questions of want to pass some files back and forth let me know.

    • #60329
      lkelley36
      Member

      Hi all,

      I just downloaded the EC trial yesterday. It seemed pretty simple at first, but then the updating part of the quick guide didn't work when I would click on new data to be updated…it just stayed the same. Course I could drag it..but definately don't want to do that..!!

      I am trying to find some software/plugin for our parts catalog. I is a really large catalog. I have our info in Access.

      Any help or tips would be very very welcome!!

      Thanks,

      ls

    • #60378
      rydesign
      Member

      Hmmm… I guess you would need to be a little more clear. When you update your data via Sync with source it only updates the Panel. Then you would need to update the document by using UPDATE DOCUMENT> ALL. This should update the new data in the panel to the specified place holders in the Document.

      EC does take some time to get used to but we have now have 4 users on it and they all seem really happy with the time it saves them. Figuring out pagination rules and working with tables is your biggest ally.

    • #60460
      lkelley36
      Member

      Hi rydesign,

      Have gotten a little better at Easy Catalog. I am sure it can do a lot more than what I am trying to do. The customer service guys have been awesome in helping me with little things I was missing!! Just wish there was an Easy Catalog for dummies book…..lol.. I have gotten done what we need for the parts catalog. Just waiting on manager to buy the software now. Still experimenting with it! It is an awesome program!! There is soooo much to learn!!!

      Thanks for replying!

      ls

    • #60507
      lkelley36
      Member

      Wow, this just gets deeper and deeper!! Has anyone set up an index in EasyCatalog? I have been asking the cust. service guys so much. I have watched the videos and looked at the catalog, but haven't seen anything like an index with page numbers. I can get a page by page index, but don't know how to have more than one page number beside a topic. Can you do this with Easy Catalog? Also, is there any where that any of you know of that has more information/tutorials than the book and videos on their site?

      Thanks,

      ls

    • #60526
      christizy
      Participant

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    • #60529
      kkorpal
      Member

      Ikelley36,

      I use EC to generate an Index for my publication, I find it much easier to use then the InDesign Index. It is pretty simple to use, There is a good explanation of how to use it in the User Guide on page 67-68.

    • #61101
      agsanchez
      Participant

      Just started a new job as production manager for a company that produces four catalogs. EasyCatalog looks like a great option for streamlining workflow, but since we also have an ecommerce site for each catalog, I'm wondering if we'd be better off taking a wider approach with some type of content management system?

    • #61298
      rydesign
      Member

      I bet the CMS would be best. EasyCatalog looks to leverage XML. You could always write your own XML code and do much of what EC does right with-in InDesign. Although that was more complicated than I wanted so I just went with the EC approach.

    • #61328
      jnorthway
      Member

      Has anyone used Woodwing's Smart Styles?

      I am trying to decide between it is Easy Catalog.

    • #61408
      rydesign
      Member

      I haven't used smart styles but I believe they are 2 seperate things. EasyCatalog is more for getting Data from a database in to your catalog. Smart Styles is about setting up templates to apply styles and formatting once it exists in InDesign.

      There is some overlap in EasyCatalog you can create a library that contains styled items and use it to place your data on the page.

      I am biased I like EC a LOT! But if you aren't dealing with databases or spreadsheets and you are just looking at a way format things that are already in the document go with smart styles.

    • #89890
      Kris Sun
      Member

      Hi rydesign,
      Why did you make the switch from AutoPrice to EasyCatalog? We have a new job coming in that has already been setup with AutoPrice, so I’m curious about any issues you ran into with AutoPrice.

      Kris

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