Using Variable Data Merge in Adobe Illustrator

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Күн бұрын

If you have hundreds, or THOUSANDS of graphics to create with the same layout, variable data merge might be the way to go. Learn how to set up one document to pull variables from a spreadsheet in this video!
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Пікірлер: 242

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

Learn how to ETHICALLY get Adobe CC free (or cheap) here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/b8hipc-EmMq3moU.html

@cms4Lena 3 жыл бұрын

Hi! I cannot load my variables in csv- format, apparently of older version of Ai and it demands XML. How do I do XML that Ai would except? Could be possible to add csv-format in this load? Can you give me any advise?

@marcolucadano7410 3 жыл бұрын

Anne, this is the the best tutorial on how to use variable data in Illustrator! Thank you, thank you! What a difference when a seasoned graphic designer brings her talents, this was so easy to follow and worked like a charm on the 1st try. I am soooo glad I found your channel. Thanks again!

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!! I'm so glad it was helpful!

@beaktama222 Жыл бұрын

thank you so much for the batch saving part. I was reading and watching so many tuts on batch saving and none of them actually explained it properly! lifesaver!

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

You're welcome..and thank you so much!!

@glitzyprints5459 3 жыл бұрын

Yours was the third tutorial I watched on this and the only one I could get to actually work- thank you so much!!

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

That's great to hear!! Thank you!

@josephfconti 4 жыл бұрын

What an incredibly useful feature. Thanks for sharing!

@GDHT 4 жыл бұрын

You're welcome!! :)

@GRANITE-EDUCATION 3 жыл бұрын

So glad someone did a video on variables, this is so cool!

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it!

@Chris-lx4un 3 жыл бұрын

you have no idea how much time you just saved me. thanks! ♥️♥️

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

I'm so glad - that's great!!

@hasankelepir Жыл бұрын

Anne, this has been the most useful tip I've ever learnt about Illustrator. I used to produce the files in Illustrator, paste them in Word and then use the Mailing function to add variables. Thank you for your share!

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

You're welcome - I'm so happy it was helpful! Doing that with Word sounds tedious... :D

@ketojake5864 10 ай бұрын

@@GDHT This is great. I have all my settings the same and even renamed my datasets, but when I choose "File Name + Dataset" it just keeps overriding as "filename_01". Any recommendations?

@deploylearning 11 ай бұрын

Great video! Super easy to follow. Thanks!

@GDHT 11 ай бұрын

You're welcome - I'm so glad it was helpful!!

@imperials5507 3 жыл бұрын

SUPER HELPFUL! thank you so much!

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

You're welcome! And thank you!!

@RedFalconInk 4 ай бұрын

This was a great help with one of our projects, thanks so much!

@GDHT 4 ай бұрын

You're welcome - I'm so glad it helped!

@sarajitsil 4 ай бұрын

Very helpful tutorial. Thanks for making it. I am your new subscriber now.

@GDHT 4 ай бұрын

You're welcome! And thank you so much!!

@febrybuw 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the video. Subscribed!

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!!

@renettahill2816 11 ай бұрын

Super Helpful... Thanks so much!

@GDHT 11 ай бұрын

You'e welcome!! :) I'm so glad it was helpful!

@desanisful 2 жыл бұрын

Love you, saved me about an hour of my life, AWESOMEEEE

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

That is great to hear - thank you!!

@diagmaphoto 2 жыл бұрын

thank you. this is the best tutorial. easy to practice.

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

You're welcome!

@DiegoPatitucci Ай бұрын

Really useful, thanks!

@GDHT Ай бұрын

You're welcome! I'm glad it was helpful!

@nmgferreira 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing. It worked fine for me.

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

You're welcome - Great to hear!

@suryagraphic5289 2 жыл бұрын

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH, I WAS HAVING HARD TIME SOLFING THE CSV FILE PROBLEM, OMG THAK YOU

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

You're welcome - I'm so happy it helped!!

@GhostBoy-dp3ck Жыл бұрын

wow Anne. for years i have been doing this the hard way. thank you . new subie

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

You're welcome!! And thank you so much for the sub!

@luaydesign 2 жыл бұрын

You help me a lot, thank you so much.

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

You're welcome - I'm so glad to hear that!!

@jonyikbal 3 жыл бұрын

very helpful, thanks.

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

You're welcome! I'm so glad it helped!

@dklectronics4190 3 ай бұрын

Thank you so much!

@GDHT 3 ай бұрын

You're welcome!

@augustszarins8636 Жыл бұрын

Thanks, you're a lifesaver

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

You're welcome!!

@colosuss3208 2 жыл бұрын

Tqsm this is easier than i thought!

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

You're welcome!

@sp0013 Жыл бұрын

Amazing, thanks !!!!

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

You're welcome...and thank you!

@temitopeaileru6028 5 ай бұрын

I've really suffered designing certificates before finally seeing this tutorial. Thank you.

@GDHT 5 ай бұрын

You're welcome - and thank you so much!

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

You're welcome!

@freddybluejay Жыл бұрын

You just saved me four hours of work!

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

Awesome - that is great to hear!!

@jasminelarend Жыл бұрын

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

You're welcome!

@ivanchairez336 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

You're welcome!

@carasembor6661 Жыл бұрын

THANK YOU SOOOO MUCHHH!!!

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

You're welcome!!

@calinflorea7172 Жыл бұрын

outstanding.

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

Thank you!!

@niallolaoghaire9493 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Anne, thank you very much for this video. Do you have any info on how make this method work with graphs in Illustrator?

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

Unfortunately I don't, but I do think it can be done - I googled 'variable data graphs illustrator' and was able to see that it's possible - it's a bit more than I would want to tackle though, involving coding, etc!

@KevBotWorkshop 5 ай бұрын

You're an MVP for this.. Is there a way to independently edit? When you resized it, it resized on all of them... what if you wanted it resized on just one of them

@GDHT 5 ай бұрын

You're welcome - I'm so happy to hear that!! In that case, when you're setting up the action, do a Save As function like AI or EPS, then export. After you do that, you can open one of the files and make changes without affecting the others.

@EdgyButtermaker 2 жыл бұрын

Great video! Question: If you wanted to put multiple fields together how do you do that? For example, if your spreadsheet had the following fields: Street, City, State, Zip is there a way to write the address dynamically? Because if you place the location of each in Illustrator it will stay in that position, it doesn't know to move one after the other based on how many characters each one is. Does what I'm asking make sense? Or if I wanted to dynamically pull from a spreadsheet a NAME, but add a comma after it. Such as the greeting in a letter: "Dear Name," because I don't want the comma in the spreadsheet, just the name, but I want a comma after the name... but again same issue. If place the comma it is in a fixed location and doesn't account for how many characters are in the name.

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

I don't think Illustrator has this capability, but InDesign does. InDesign is a better option all around for Data Merge, in my opinion.

@touhamimohamed8648 2 жыл бұрын

think you very mucheeeee!!!

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

You're welcome!

@r0nnieM 8 ай бұрын

Excellent video! I'm just trying this now, using Excel, and i'm unable to put the @ in the column title for images. What do you need to do in Excel for images?

@GDHT 8 ай бұрын

Not sure about Excel (I don't have it on my computer) - but I would just copy/paste the info in Excel into a Google sheet, which is free for everyone if you aren't able to figure it out.

@lyndsaymoye7861 2 жыл бұрын

Hi! Is there anyway to merge fonts? For instance, is variable 1 has a different font that variable 2 and so forth. Would it be possible for the fonts to change as well?

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

Yes, you could just set up the font you want it to be, and when the words from the spreadsheet come in, they automatically take on that font (if I'm understanding you correctly).

@Artistram3d1 Жыл бұрын

Great tutorial! Which would you say is better (and/or easier) to use for Data Merge, InDesign or Illustrator? Thank you!

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

If it's just text (like business cards where the name/title changes), I would definitely use InDesign. But if you're wanting different backgrounds and images, etc, maybe Illustrator. I haven't tried that with InDesign. Generally, AI is best used for 1-3 pages, and INDD is best for more (4-??).

$@fraces6001$

@fraces6001 2 жыл бұрын

Hello i would like to check how to change all the file name with reference to clip timing 5.50? I heard you mention copy and paste? I don't think I can change them 1 by 1 as I have 50k qr codes to merge in and I have been searching high n low how to do it. Today I stumble upon your clip and I am excited to try.

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

If you're on a Mac and you have the files in one folder, you can copy all files in the folder, and paste into Illustrator. Then copy again, and paste into your Google doc. You'll only have the file names, so you'll need to concatenate the file name with the location - Google 'concatenate text strings' to learn how to do that.

@viniciuscunha327 3 жыл бұрын

Awesome job, really helpful! I was wondering if you know a way to load all the dataset results on one page instead of having to use an action to save as/export ...

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

I don't think it's possible to do this with Illustrator...but InDesign can do it: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gLiWlrte18q8dJc.html

@viniciuscunha327 3 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT thank you!

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

@@viniciuscunha327 You're welcome! :)

@Lindemann 2 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT Hi Anne, would you know of a possible script/plugin if there is one that could do this? (Doing a staff board which is done manually. Trying to automate it and really don't want to round trip into InDesign and Illustrator 😁) Superb video 🤗😎🤘

@TR3AD3R 4 жыл бұрын

can we do anything for the font size thing , because i have mixed sentences where some are long and some are short so when i do the variable thing few ones protrudes outside the text area , what i do right now is decrease the font size so that the longest one also can be inside the text but that makes the shorter ones too small to read. any idea so that illustrator can adjust itself the font size according to the sentence length?

@GDHT 4 жыл бұрын

I don't think it has that ability, unfortunately. You'll probably need to manually fix it, or set the template with the longest text version.

@TR3AD3R 4 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT ok, thanks

@KateGouws Жыл бұрын

Hi! Thanks for the video! So helpful!! One question: is there a way to save all the datasets as one pdf file? Instead of the separate files?

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

Hmmm, I'm not sure if it will do it automatically, but you could combine them in Acrobat after they're done.

@Mysonichiban 2 жыл бұрын

This is great! Any idea why when i import the variable library and go to view the data sets it has increased the font size by 2pt???

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

No, that is strange!! I can't think of why that would happen.

@joshnault4375 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing. If you have 3 variables and one of the variables has blank entries, the previous filled in variable copies until there is a data entry for that variable. For example, variable 2 may have blank tiles in the .csv file and I need the text box in illustrator to be blank also but it copies the last variable 2 entry that was filled. Do you have a solution for this?

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

Hmm, I'm not 100% sure, it seems like data merge doesn't handle blank entries well - you might have to do it manually in that case. I'm thinking put a weird word, like 'lsdkfjal' in all the blank cells, then after Illustrator makes the documents, open them and then do a find/replace with lsdkfjal replaced to nothing. You could set up an action to run through lots of files at once to perform that, I would think. Here's an article about the blank entries: community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator/illustrator-variable-data-ignore-blank-cells-in-the-csv/m-p/10725263

@joshnault4375 3 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT Thank you! Leaving the text box blank did not solve the problem but find/replace is a great solution!

@Nick_NickH 10 ай бұрын

Hello, This is a brilliant video; really helpful. I have a quick question about variables which hopefully you may know the answer to! Do you know if you can use variables with multipage PDFs on Illustrator? At the moment I can only get variables to import single-page PDFs, it will not work with multipage ones? It just comes back with errors and does not import the file. Thanks.

@GDHT 10 ай бұрын

I don't think you can, but you could extract them to separate files, add the files to your spreadsheet, and do the process that way. A few extra steps, but not too bad.

@lindsaymcneish1462 3 жыл бұрын

Is there any way to have the data merge SKIP over a blank cell in the spreadsheet? I'm working on business cards and some folks only have one title, while others have two. The data merge auto fills in the second title even if that box is blank on the spreadsheet. Any suggestions?

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

I don't think so unless there's a script or something. What is it filling in with? I would sort the spreadsheet by that row, then set up a separate data merge for just those lines.

@igobyandrew Жыл бұрын

So I'm trying to simplify my workflow by editing one file that auto populates to other files. The only issue is, I am trying to have it populate the graphics onto another layout. So if I create for example one version that is in a portrait layout and another in a landscape, I just want to edit one and it auto populates the same graphics to a pre-determined position on another artboard or file. Hopefully that makes sense. Is this possible in Illustrator? I feel like it should be, but I dont know how to explain it properly... Thanks for your help and your well spoken video!

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

This should work - you can just go to your Links panel and choose Update links. Illustrator doesn't do great with custom positioning, so you'll want to make sure you don't add anything outside the edge of the design or it will shift in all layouts.

@jaylenearnold1216 5 ай бұрын

If you want to run it again later with a new spreadsheet/new data but with the same variable names, do you have to re-bind all the variables? That's what I've been doing but I feel like I'm doing something wrong.

@GDHT 5 ай бұрын

As long as everything is in the same place and has the same name, you should be able to just run the merge.

@tonnatang Жыл бұрын

It's the best tutorial i found about variable data. This video saved me tons of time. I have one question. Is there anyway we can change the name of the data set? Otherwise, all exported files are named data set 1, data set 2..... Can we define the name of all data set by the data in variable1?

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

Hmmm, I'm not sure about that. I don't think Illustrator has a way of doing it. You could try a renaming program.

@alno7199 Жыл бұрын

Nice tutorial! How would I print all of them at the same time? For example, I have a letter back with variables of names and addresses...

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

I would save them as a PDF and print from there.

@caseymckay4919 3 жыл бұрын

Is there a way to create and expand the variable text onto the same document Example: we are working with a vinyl cutter and a team roster. The only plug in option I have is to use Illustrator but want the plug in to create the cut sheet with the least space used Or use variable data spread over one artboard.....

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

InDesign has this capability, but I don't think Illustrator does unfortunately.

@originmediagroup 3 жыл бұрын

Is it possible to have each data set show all at the same time? For instance, If I'm creating a menu for a restaurant, and input the name of the item, description and price of each item into a spreadsheet - each in their own columns, could I then update all items on the menu at one time?

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

I think you could. You'd need to create a text path for each cell, though. It would be time-consuming at first, but if there were changes to the menu, you could update them easily by updating the spreadsheet.

@originmediagroup 3 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT Any tips on how to styart creating a text path for each cell? I'm up for the challenge

@MTouseefKhaleel 3 жыл бұрын

Instead of saving as separate pdf, Is it possible to import all variable as separate artboards in one file?.

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

I don't think so, but InDesign has a way of putting them on one page.

@soneaf 3 жыл бұрын

Hi there. Do you know if there is a limit on the number of data sets ?

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

Hi, no I don't. I would just give it a try and see if it fails.

@soneaf 3 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT mine stops at only 45 records, wanted to make sure there wasn’t an issue. That number seemed really low.

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

@@soneaf Yes, it does! Hopefully that's not the limit. Of course, you can always start a new set, but if you have thousands, that would take a while.

@josephfireborn 3 жыл бұрын

Is it possible to make something like this work in illustrator except for a project like address labels on the same sheet?

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

No, unfortunately. You'll need to switch to InDesign for that: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qb55jdWgprHNpHk.html

@josephfireborn 3 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT thanks. I guess I'll have to be pickup in design

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

@@josephfireborn it's not too bad - it's more similar to Illustrator than Photoshop.

@aliakkaya6067 Жыл бұрын

I am adding jpg or svg files from the place tab then I can't click on the "make object dynamic" field in the variable field. The button in that field remains inactive and I cannot create a variable. I can do this with texts. What is the reason?

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

I just tried with a JPG and it worked for me. Make sure it's a linked file, and not embedded.

@CynthiaRico-tg1io Жыл бұрын

Hi, great video! By any chance, do you know how to add quotation marks in variable data? When quotation marks are added in the excel sheet, they disappear in the illustrator file. Maybe you have some tips to avoid this happening? Thank you :)

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

I haven't tested this, but I found this article: community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/variables-does-not-import-quotation-mark-symbols-during-load-variable-library/td-p/12120621

@JesusPerez-mx9sq 2 жыл бұрын

Hello, do you know if there is a way to export all the images as a single PDF with multiple pages?

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

You could make an action to save each document as PDF, then open all PDFs in Acrobat, and it'll ask if you want to combine into one. Another option would be to have all designs in one document (different artboards), but I think it could be hard for Illustrator to handle that.

@vipulrathod2428 Жыл бұрын

Can we make single document (single page) with multiple images & text ( multiple records) using Illustrator?

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

Yes, but I would probably use InDesign for this - then new pages are auto-added. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gLiWlrte18q8dJc.html

@sajjadurrahman8391 Жыл бұрын

Hi Anne, while I try to load variable library, at the download folder I cannot find the CSV file, only XML(*.xml) file type is showing. Any idea what to do?

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

I would save the file as CSV instead (it sounds like you accidentally saved as XML).

@sajjadurrahman8391 Жыл бұрын

I saved in CSV but illustrator not allowing CSV not XML. Is this the reason I am using illustrator CS6? Any Idea ?

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

Oh ok, I understand I think! Yes, maybe Illustrator CS6 only allows XML files. That is a bit strange, though, honestly...and surprising!

@dimitardimitrov8964 3 жыл бұрын

Hello, is it possible to have these 5 files on one artboard instead of 5 separate. I'm working on small labels with variable data that I would like to print on one sheet if possible.

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

In that case, I would use InDesign instead. Here'a a tutorial using multiple business cards on one sheet: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qb5hfbRknsmXdH0.html

@dimitardimitrov8964 3 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT, thank you!

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

You're welcome!

@thughes44 11 ай бұрын

When trying to import the csv file, my Illustrator only looks for xml files? How can I request it looks for other file types?

@GDHT 11 ай бұрын

What version are you on? You can try to export as XML from the spreadsheet, then use that doc. Let me know if it works!

@pipepaezadsandrock Жыл бұрын

Hello, good morning, I am carrying out the process in a MacPro, with MacOs Monterrey, Illustrator 2023 version 26.7. I do the step by step and when you activate the upload of the file I get a window with Invalid File. Can you help me?

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

Hmm, I'm not sure why that's happening. This way is the only way I know to get it to work, and it's working for me on a MacPro. Are you using Google Sheets? I'm not sure about troubleshooting it - I'm so sorry!

@fannycarlo9443 3 жыл бұрын

can i use image vector, like svg or eps, instead png?

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

I would think so but I'm not sure...give it a try! :)

@georgiusradiyan Жыл бұрын

when I paste the image location, instead of typed as slash (/) it showed up as arrow as exemple: ‎⁨MacOS SSD⁩ ▸ ⁨Users⁩ ▸ ⁨. is it allright or how can I change it to slash? thanks for the help before.

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

I think you'll need the slashes. You can probably find and replace with a slash, though.

@georgiusradiyan Жыл бұрын

@@GDHT finally I did this> Right click the image, and click copy image while hold alt to copy the image’s pathname and paste it to the sheets. anyway thanks for your video so I know how to use variable data 👍🏽🙏🏽💪🏽

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

@@georgiusradiyan ok great! I’m so glad you got it figured out!

@carlospedraza7750 3 жыл бұрын

Hi! HQ content ! I’ve got a question, can Illustrator work with “ image variables “ that are vectors instead of png/jpg?

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! I think that would probably work, though I've never tried it personally. Each vector would need to be saved as its own file.

@shaped-by-design 2 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT @Carlos Pedraza I've just tried it and you can. It only takes the first artboard of an Ai file, and as you mention, each vector has to be saved separately into the source folder you pull it from. 😎

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

@@shaped-by-design thank you 🙏

@prabu2778 Жыл бұрын

@@shaped-by-design any video tutorial PNG works fine in variables But svg not able to do

@BoY27300 3 жыл бұрын

thanks for the video i have a problem when try to upload the variables illustrator show that i can only upload .xml files and no option for .csv files

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

What version of Illustrator are you using?

@elwalsh311 3 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT I'm having the same issue. I am on Illustrator CC 2017.

@elwalsh311 3 жыл бұрын

I also tried exporting as .xml and it told me the variable library was invalid. :-( Have you ever come across this before?

@BoY27300 3 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT 2017

@BoY27300 3 жыл бұрын

@@elwalsh311 hi the solution is in this video kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gtqTra55pqibZJ8.html&t

@darkohaidar8082 2 жыл бұрын

can we name the each filr or image in variable name? like we do in image?

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

I don't understand what you mean.

@HuzanForbes 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this. However, I am unable to see the CSV option in the Load Variable Library dialogue box. Can you support please?

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

What program did you use to save the CSV?

@HuzanForbes 2 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT Microsoft excel. However, illustrator only shows xml as an option.

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

I would try from Google Sheets and see if that fixes the issue.

@HuzanForbes 2 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT I’ll try that. However I don’t understand how will it show CSV as an option in illustrator though?

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

I would give it a try. Using Excel has caused some problems for me in the past with this process.

@jlifeproductions6032 10 ай бұрын

hi there im a big fan of your videos , could i please ask you to do a video where i can do barcodes for tickets which will generate barcodes different to each tickets ,

@GDHT 10 ай бұрын

I can try that - I would probably use something like InDesign, and use photos (of barcodes). I'll add it to the list!

@joyscelondcosta462 10 ай бұрын

@@GDHT I will be waiting for this video. Thanks a lot. And looking forward to it.

@GDHT 10 ай бұрын

It might be a while, honestly. But I will try to get it in!

@NizamBagusPrabowo 3 жыл бұрын

when i try to make variable on text box, this text "The filter cannot complete because of a bad parameter error" are showed up. How fix that? Thanks

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

It sounds like something in your Excel sheet is set up wrong...

@NizamBagusPrabowo 3 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT thanks for your answer, I know this mistake when I use print merge on coreldraw

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

@@NizamBagusPrabowo you’re welcome 😊

@ivanywardhana7734 2 жыл бұрын

Hi, it is a very fruitful tutorial. However, i would like to ask why i could not export it as png? Every time i exported it, it become a file which can't be opened. Do you have any suggesstions? Thankyou in advance and have a great day :)

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

That is really strange - what are your settings for export (other than png)?

@ivanywardhana7734 2 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT i have got the solution, so its happening because of the version of the apps. After i updated to the newest the problem had been resolved, thank you so much☺️☺️

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

@@ivanywardhana7734 oh ok! I’m so glad you got it figured out!

@TheWaqaspuri 3 жыл бұрын

What about when I'm on the multiples screen e.g. more then 3 artboard with different size running on it.

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

Have you tried it already? I would think it would still work ok.

@TheWaqaspuri 3 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT Yes I didn't doesn't seems to work. Please assist

@TheWaqaspuri 3 жыл бұрын

it works if you set Variable 1, 2, 3... assigning to different, but a Text1 e. g. does not work where ever the Text1 is used.

@TheWaqaspuri 3 жыл бұрын

it works. I didn't make the object carefully

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

@@TheWaqaspuri ohhh ok. I'm glad you got it figured out! :)

@ankit__kapoor 3 жыл бұрын

How to name the files as the name of a variable dataset? ex, I am exporting certificates as jpeg but the names of the jpeg file are not the names of the Name of the Participant. How to do that?

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

You could save each artboard name as the name of the participant. It's still just as much work, though. I would research "rename files with excel" - there might be something valuable on KZfaq for that.

@ankit__kapoor 3 жыл бұрын

Graphic Design How To That would be of great help. Right now, I am just renaming the files one by one, that is very cumbersome. Thanks for replying.

@AdamMalesevic 3 жыл бұрын

Search for "Illustrator Variable Data - The EASY way! " here on YT

@Raphatheo813 4 жыл бұрын

I have the error "the income variable library is invalid". I cant fix it.

@GDHT 4 жыл бұрын

I would probably try starting over - I haven't come across this error before. If you build the merge exactly like in the video, it should work for you.

@prjktz 3 жыл бұрын

same here

@thewoods4851 3 жыл бұрын

@@prjktz make sure it's "Variable1" no space. it happened to me too

@woutercuypers572 3 жыл бұрын

Still the same issue, tried everything... someone have any more advice?

@JonathonNeville 3 жыл бұрын

Awesome! If only there was a way to: 1. Include new paragraph separators. Ctrl-Enter adds a new paragraph within Google Sheets, but then Illustrator says "The incoming variable library is invalid". 2a. Get the text to auto-adjust to the maximum size that fits within the text box. From what I've seen, Illustrator incomprehensibly can't do that. 2b. Failing that, if only there was a way to generate all the versions then let me adjust the font size of one without affecting all the others. (As stated in the video.) I'm presenting excerpts from book reviews. Some are short, some long.

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

InDesign has more capabilities with Data Merge, honestly. I'm not sure it can do #1, but it can definitely do #2b.

@JonathonNeville 3 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT - Thanks Anne, this is the first video of yours I've seen, but I / we-all love you!

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

Awww thank you so much!!

@mdrayhanmunshi5455 Жыл бұрын

I can't change text and color at a time with variable in illustrator, Example "John smith" a text, I change it with variable to "David Smith". now I want to change "David Smith" color red to green. How can I do this? Please help me, Please , Please , Please ...

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

I would do two documents, one with red, and one with green. And then just do two merges.

@mdrayhanmunshi5455 Жыл бұрын

@@GDHT but i would do one document.....!!!!!

@GDHT Жыл бұрын

Can you put 2 color options in the one document?

@shaikhghalib4846 3 жыл бұрын

what if i dont have internet access and can't use google data sheets feature for variable data

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

You can use Excel, or any spreadsheet that can be saved as .csv.

@shaikhghalib4846 3 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT thank you very much

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

@@shaikhghalib4846 you're welcome!

@shaikhghalib4846 3 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT I converted data to csv file format from excel but when csv file imported in illustrator message appeared "incoming variable library is invalid" I checked the variable in excel and illustrator are same

@shaikhghalib4846 3 жыл бұрын

I REALLY NEED IT BADLY

@TheWaqaspuri 3 жыл бұрын

I have just XML instead of CSV ? What to do here ?

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

I would just open in Excel and save as CSV.

@TheWaqaspuri 3 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT No, In Adobe Illustrator CS6

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

@@TheWaqaspuri if you don’t have Excel, you can use Google sheets. You can’t make a CSV in Illustrator- you need a spreadsheet application.

@TheWaqaspuri 3 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT Hi again. I'm using data-set, it works good. I m using CS6. I'm having trouble aligning the text in the middle of the text boundary. see this example. so you may understand What I need actually to do in CS6 graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/42030/how-can-i-align-text-in-a-text-area-vertically-in-illustrator (second box)

@bastianrivero 3 жыл бұрын

I like illustrator but i think this process is way easier in indesign

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

I would agree...but if you needed vector objects for screen printing or something (and wanted to use Data Merge), InDesign wouldn't work well.

@TheWaqaspuri 2 жыл бұрын

You're always great, how do I make the dataset same as variable first name, for e.g. invitation card john.jpg

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

You’ll need to isolate the “John” part into another cell on the spreadsheet. There are ways to get Google sheets and Excel to do that, I always have to Google things like that.

@TheWaqaspuri 2 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT could you recommend me a youtube tutorial that someone doing the same. OR you can let me know what should I write on first line e.g. data set or variable 0

@GDHT 2 жыл бұрын

I would put all file names in your first column, each in its own cell - john.jpg, alice.jpg etc. Then in the 2nd column, write a function that will remove '.jpg' from those. You can search 'Remove Last Character(s) From Right - Excel & Google Sheets' in Google. That will give you just the names. Then you can use those in your merge.

@TheWaqaspuri 2 жыл бұрын

I will try to do that trick,

@raihandof 3 жыл бұрын

My things doesnt work well like yours, the variable data is invalid. Can u help me with that?

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

Sure - can you let me know what part of the video you're getting stuck at (min, sec)?

@raihandof 3 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT its stuck when i import the csv

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

Is your CSV set up exactly like mine?

@raihandof 3 жыл бұрын

@@GDHT yup its exactly like yours, fyi i did it on Mac.

@GDHT 3 жыл бұрын

@@raihandof did you use excel or google sheets?

@Theakker3B 2 ай бұрын

What is the point of this?

@GDHT 2 ай бұрын

If you have thousands of images and text all set up in a folder and spreadsheet, and you have to make graphics from them, it is a huge time saver!

@9981240496 5 ай бұрын

Thanks, great tutorial! Anyway is it possible to save the file names with the Variable1 rows? So that it becomes “Networking.png”, “Brainstorming.png”, etc? Thanks again!

@GDHT 5 ай бұрын

You're welcome! Hmm, not that I know of. I found this article about renaming them outside of Illustrator though (Mac only): discussions.apple.com/thread/252204380?sortBy=best