IndesignPerfect

Create hundreds of custom designs—automatically.

Whether you’re printing name badges, business cards, or personalized mailers, manually editing each one is a waste of time. That’s where Data Merge in Adobe InDesign comes in.

Data Merge lets you import a spreadsheet of names, titles, and other variables, then automatically create customized versions of your design—with just a few clicks.

Here’s how to use Data Merge in InDesign, step by step.

🧾 What You’ll Need:

1. An InDesign layout file (e.g., a business card or badge)
2. A data file in .CSV or .TXT format (usually exported from Excel or Google Sheets)
3. Optional: Headshots or logos (linked by filename)

📄 Step 1: Prepare Your Data File

Create a spreadsheet with column headers that represent your variable content:

Name	Title	Email	Photo
Jane Smith	Marketing Manager	jane@example.com	jane.jpg
Tom Rivera	Art Director	tom@example.com	tom.jpg

• Save it as CSV (Comma Separated Values) format
• If you’re including images, make sure filenames match the actual file names and are located in the same folder as your InDesign file

📂 Step 2: Load the Data File into InDesign

1. Open your InDesign layout
2. Go to Window > Utilities > Data Merge
3. In the Data Merge panel, click the menu icon (☰) and choose Select Data Source
4. Choose your .csv file

You’ll now see your column headers appear as data fields in the panel.

✍️ Step 3: Insert Data Fields into Your Layout

In your layout:

• Place a text frame where you want a variable (e.g., Name)
• Click the appropriate field (e.g., <<Name>>) in the Data Merge panel to insert it
• Repeat for all fields: title, email, etc.

For images:

• Create an empty graphic frame
• Select it, then click the image field (e.g., <<Photo>>) in the Data Merge panel

🖨️ Step 4: Preview and Export

To Preview:

• In the Data Merge panel, click “Preview”
• Use the arrows to scroll through your personalized records

To Export:

1. Click the menu (☰) in the panel and choose Create Merged Document
2. Choose to merge:
   • All records
   • A range of records
3. You can create:
   • A new InDesign file with all merged versions
   • A PDF directly (via File > Export)

🧠 Pro Tips

• Keep your data clean—no empty cells or special characters in headers
• Group text/image frames before merging to keep layouts aligned
• Use Paragraph Styles for easy formatting
• Save your layout as a template to reuse later

🧩 Use Cases for Data Merge

• Name tags for events
• Personalized business cards
• Direct mail postcards
• Certificates of completion
• Product catalogs with price variants

🚀 Final Thought

Data Merge in InDesign is like having a personal assistant for repetitive layout work. Instead of editing 200 name tags one by one, you design once—then let InDesign do the rest. It’s fast, accurate, and scalable.