I'm looking for a better solution on importing catalog data into Adobe InDesign

Question

The last time I produced a catalog I used a software called EasyCatalog that worked with Adobe InDesign to merge data from a spreadsheet with graphics. I wouldn’t say it was completely successful. I know of one other catalog building software called Catalog Builder by Computer Pundits. I'm just looking for any suggestions from someone who might have gone through this process on what software I should use.

Answer 1

I haven't used InDesign, but it seems there are lot of scripting features. Easiest thing that comes to mind is creating an XML Schema with IDML to get data from Excel into an InDesign document.

XML schema basically is a template for XML documents, and they're called XML Maps in Microsoft Office.

Am not familiar with catalog tools, try superuser.com as well for 3rd party tools & tips.

Answer 2

John. have you come across additional solutions since posting this? I wonder if you have considered CatBase or EM Software solutions.

Answer 3

InDesign can create a really beautiful output from XML. Depending on the catalog content's complexity, you can either have a straightforward mapping of the elements in your catalog to the paragraph and character styles of the IDD file, or you may need to preprocess the XML with XSLT. For example, if your data source can output the content as XML, but it doesn't map easily to InDesign tables, XSLT can be used to make the XML more "IDD-friendly" before you import it. IDML is another way to handle XML content; instead of importing the XML content manually or with a script into your catalog template, you generate the IDML directly from your XML. (IDML files are a package of XML files that describe the page/spreads, fonts, swatches, text, images, etc. of the InDesign file.) You're probably going to need XSLT consulting help if this is not a skill you already have. Take a look at the InDesign documentation for XML for the version you use. IDML is for CS4 or CS5.