Excel Spreadsheets
Importing the data stored in an Excel Spreadsheet
The process begins by selecting New Excel Data Source from the File→New→New EasyCatalog Panel menu option.
Select your data file using the standard InDesign file selection dialog.
The name wich will be used to identify this data source.
Shows the path to the selected file, and allows a new file to be chosen. Use the Reveal button to go to the file in Windows Explorer (Windows) or the Finder (Macintosh).
Choose which sheet to import from the Excel workbook using the Sheet pop-up. Alternatively, select All sheets to import data from all sheets in the workbook. EasyCatalog will create a unique list of field names from across all sheets and create a Sheet Name field for each record that will be populated with the name of the sheet that the record belongs to.
The Range popup shows the data ranges defined in the Excel worksheet and allows a portion of the records and fields in the sheet to be imported.
Ignore Rows With One Cell of Data will ignore any rows in the spreadsheet where only a single cell is populated. This setting is generally used for spreadsheets where headers have been inserted amongst the data in Excel.
The sample pane shows a preview of the data as it will be imported by EasyCatalog. When a column is selected in this area the Field Information pane will be available.
Before importing your data, you need to define a key column. The content of this column determines the uniqueness of each records being imported, and the choice of key field is critical to the successful operation of EasyCatalog. For further information, see Key Fields.
To define a key field, select the column in the Sample panel and check the Key checkbox.
Formatting fields
Wherever possible EasyCatalog attempts to set the type of each field based on the format of the cells in Excel.
For example, fields that are numeric in Excel will also be numeric in EasyCatalog. To change the format of a column, select it in the Sample pane and use the Options... button to display the Field Options dialog. Further information on formatting data using the Field Options dialog can be found here.
Once you are happy with the configuration options, press the OK button to import the file. If the configuration is correct, a new EasyCatalog panel will open showing a spreadsheet-style view of your data.
Further information on working with the EasyCatalog data panels can be found in the Panels chapter.
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