General Question about Pagemaker and dynamics 1

[Chance1234]

Im not to familiar with pagemaker , but i was wondering if the following was possible,

what i am trying to do is , a company has a list of partners (which is forever changing) this list is printed on all their master heads , compliment slips etc.

what i was thinking of doing was having this list in a Access databse with a simple GUI. In Pagemaker is it possible to automate bringing in this list of names and placing them in the right place ?

regards



Chance,

Filmmaker, gentlemen and forum1229

 

[BionicJohn]

Aye, aye, young Chance, Welcome to PM!

(I assume you're a Windows user with PM7…)

In Pagemaker is it possible to automate bringing in this list of names and placing them in the right place ?

If you can export the Access data as CSV, then yes, it is.

The details are in the PM7 User Guide, but try this for starters:

1. The data source can be created in any program that allows you to save it in 'comma separated values' format (*.csv) - the best is Excel (or Word tables).

2. The columns of data in this source should have headings e.g. 'firstname', 'lastname', 'address1' etc.

3. When you set up the fields in PM, you must do it within a text frame (the symbol on the toolbar is a rectangle with a cross through it). So first step is to draw a frame the size of the completed card/certificate or whatever.

If there is to be more than one record per page, then draw up a dummy of the layout showing how many records are to appear on each page, and check the measurements. If there is to be more than one record ACROSS the page, then take note of the 'column gutter' i.e. space between each card. If there is to be more than one record DOWN the page, take note of the 'row gutter'.

4. Back to the actual merge layout. Set up the layout and format of the fields ONCE only - even if you want more than one record per page. If you repeat the record layout, you will get repeating instances of the one set of data.

5. Using the text tool, insert the fields in the appropriate places within the text frame, clicking on the list in the Merge palette to select the fields.

5. When you are ready to do the merge, click on the flyout arrow on the Merge palette and choose 'merge records'. Under the layout options, choose 'manual layout' from the drop down menu. Once this is selected, the column gutter and row gutter become enabled.

6. Enter the column and row gutter measurements. If there is only one record ACROSS the page, you can leave the 'col gutter' blank.

7. You can check the box to remove blank lines (e.g. some addresses may have more or less lines than others) and uncheck 'embed images' as it makes the process much slower.

8. Click OK and let PM do its magic.

Note that the process results in the production of a NEW document and leaves the original 'master' unchanged. So if it doesn't work correctly, you can close the new document without saving and it will take you back to the original.

You can also insert images into each record e.g. a logo, but that's another tutorial!

- Many thanks to Lyn Eggleston. 11th Oct '03

Here's a couple of links to Adobe's Tutorials:

Merge records with a publication
"Say hello to automation and goodbye to tedium. The new Data Merge feature in PageMaker allows you to funnel a mass number of records through a single publication."

Set up records for a smooth merger
"Learn how to prepare a batch of records that'll slip seamlessly through a boilerplate publication with the new Data Merge feature in PageMaker."

Shout if you need more, but bear in mind PM is on borrowed time. Use your PM7 Licence Number to get a discounted move to InDesignCS, which with the PM Plug-in will also do DataMerge.

http://www.adobe.com/products/indesign/pm_ind.html

Iechyd da! John
Glannau Mersi, Lloegr.

 

[Chance1234]

many thanks guv'nor

Chance,

Filmmaker, gentlemen and forum1229

 

[BionicJohn]

All part of the service…

Iechyd da! John
Glannau Mersi, Lloegr.