EasyCatalog uses Data Providers —other InDesign plug-ins written to interface with EasyCatalog— to import your data.
Your data is stored in a Data Source. Some examples of Data Sources are CSV (comma separated) files, a Google Docs Spreadsheet or a MySQL database.
Data Providers are provided as separate modules that must be installed alongside EasyCatalog. All of the Data Provider plug-ins are available for installation during the EasyCatalog installation process.
Each of the available Data Providers are shown on the File>New>EasyCatalog Panel menu. This menu is split into two sections: the top half allows you to import data from a new data source; the bottom allows you to create a new panel from an existing .
The configuration required to import your data depends on the type of data you are importing:
Delimited Files
Delimited files include comma and tab delimited files. These types of files can typically be exported from most databases and applications such as Microsoft Excel. Further information on importing delimited files can be found here.
Excel Spreadsheets
EasyCatalog can directly import Microsoft Excel files (either .xls or .xlsx files). Only the textual content of the file is imported; any formatting is ignored. Further information on importing Excel spreadsheets can be found here.
Google Docs Spreadsheets
If your data is stored in the cloud in a Google Docs Spreadsheet, EasyCatalog can connect directly to it and import your data in the same way as importing a local Excel file. Further information on imported data from a Google Docs Spreadsheet can be found here.
Data from an ODBC-compliant Database
The optional ODBC Data Provider module enables EasyCatalog to connect directly to an ODBC database such as MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, FileMaker or Access. An appropriate ODBC driver is required. On Windows, these are typically provided by the database vendor; on Macintosh, you may need to purchase a driver from a third-party vendor such as Actual Technologies or OpenLink Software. Further information on importing from an ODBC database can be found in here.
XML
Using the optional XML Data Provider module EasyCatalog can import an XML structure either from a local file or by connecting to a URL endpoint. The location of each record and field within the XML structure is defined using XPath. Further information on importing from an XML file can be found in here.
Enterprise data providers
Support for the following data types is provided by the optional Enterprise Data Provider module. Further information on configuring the Enterprise Data Provider module can be found here.
