Create a Vision Merge Template with Adobe InDesign

You can create a Vision merge template with Adobe InDesign in Vision Merge Templates Configuration.

InDesign gives you flexibility in formatting and structuring your merged document.

You create a merge template with InDesign when InDesign is launched automatically from within Vision Merge Templates Configuration. In the same step that you add the merge template to the Vision database, you also create the merge template. This allows the Vision database tables and fields to be available within InDesign. You cannot create merge templates directly in InDesign without going through Vision Merge Templates Configuration.

Prerequisites: Review the "Prerequisites for Creating Vision Merge Templates with Adobe InDesign" help topic.

To create a Vision merge template with Adobe InDesign and add it to Vision:

1. From the Vision Navigation menu, click Configuration > General > Merge Templates.
2. In the Info Center Area field on the Merge Templates form, select the appropriate Info Center for the template.
3. On the Merge Templates grid toolbar, click Add and from the drop-down list select Create Adobe InDesign Template.
4. On the Add Merge Template dialog box, enter a description for the template and click OK. The description will also be used as the name for the InDesign .indt file that is created for the merge template. When you click OK, the Adobe InDesign software opens, and the Vision Merge Code dialog box may be minimized on your Windows taskbar.
5. On the Merge Code dialog box, select a Vision table and field (merge code) that you want to add to the merge template. From the drop-down lists, you can select only the Vision database tables and fields for the Info Center that you selected on the Merge Templates form.
6. Optional. If the field that you select can be formatted, enter formatting for it in the Format field. You can see how the formatting looks in the Example section below the Format field.
7. Click Insert on the Merge Code dialog box. The Vision field and its formatting are entered into the active InDesign text frame.
8. Continue to add more Vision fields to the InDesign merge template using the Merge Code dialog box. As you work, you move back and forth between the Vision Merge Code dialog box and the In Design text frame.
9. When you finish adding Vision fields to the InDesign template file, click Save and Close on in the Merge Code dialog box. This saves the merge template to Vision, closes InDesign, and returns you to the Vision Merge Templates form. A new row for the template is added to the Vision Merge Template form. The file name that displays in the Template File Name field is based on the description that you entered for the merge file on the Add Merge Template dialog box.

   If you save the file using File > Save or File > Save As in the InDesign screen, the .indt file is not saved to Vision. It is saved to a location on your workstation or a network drive. You must use the Save or Save As buttons on the Vision Merge Code dialog box to save the InDesign merge template file in Vision.

To add merge codes for grid fields, graphics, and other items, see the following topics:

• Insert Merge Codes for Vision Grids in an Adobe InDesign Merge Template
• Insert Merge Codes for a Graphic in an Adobe InDesign Merge Template
• Insert Merge Codes for Project Descriptions in an Adobe InDesign Merge Template
• Insert Vision Data into a Table in an Adobe InDesign Merge Template