AutoFlow Pro and Data Merge AutoFlow Pro Forum
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4:15 pm
07/16/2011
I am currently evaluating AutoFlow for a Directory project I am doing. I am using InDesign CS5 in Windows 7 64 with AutoFLow 2.02.
What I am attempting to do is Data Merge the entries in a directory. Each entry will be a slightly different length and so will need to be fit and balanced across columns in its text box.
Right now I have applied Full Text Flow to the merge template (http://screencast.com/t/o1OOAlQE02No), but when I actually merge the document it does not behave as I expect.
Upon merge I get the Overset Text Report, which I would expect. I close the report and then InDesign sits processing for some time (again, I would expect this.)
Initially I see some cause for concern; the text boxes do not flow across the columns. I have read the documentation and believe I understand it, since the two sides of the text box are snapped to the sides of the column guide. Before installing AutoFlow the text flowed from one column to the next (in its own clunky way) and I expect for auto-flow to override this functionality, but now it is not working at all.
Edit: Erp, I figured out the multiple column thing – it was a PEBKAC error. Still have the overlapping boxes and error message though.
Also – when the program finishes processing I get an error dialog: http://screencast.com/t/awmURukl.
Looking over the merged document, while the boxes do appear to have resized correctly they remain positioned relative to the upper-left hand placement automatically dictated by data merge so that they end up overlapping the text box below them.
Is AutoFlow behaving as designed in this case? Is it able to dynamically resize the text boxes in suce a way as to prevent them from overlapping?
Hi Edwin,
Sorry about the delay in responding to this. I seemed to have missed this post.
Thanks for reporting that error message. We'll fix that...
AutoFlow Pro does not have any "dodging" logic to make sure text frames don't collide. Each one expands independently, and that can cause ovelap. Data merge is not generally such a good use case for AF Pro unless it can be structured so that frames don't overlap.
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