InDesign: images using Data Merge

Question

Probably missing something simple. I'm trying to set up a post card template that has a couple hundred images that I'm trying to merge:

I set up the .csv correctly, to the best of my knowledge:

but when I go to preview in the Data Merge panel I get the message that images are missing. Maybe I did not set up my paths correctly, or the files are not living in the proper folders?

First time using data merge for images so I'm probably missing something.

Answer 1

InDesign often struggles with pathes in CSV. For Mac we work with MyDataMerge (https://mydatamerge.com) which is a drag and drop interface for Indesigns data merge. But if you want to do it manually please note that pathes to images need to be complete and HFS.

Instead of "Macintosh HD/Users/richarddelong/Desktop/ Files/M/Mark A. Monaco Foundation/Monaco Golf Save Date PCard/2018/Links/Pics/1/A-_8748 (4).jpg"

Use "Macintosh HD:Users:richarddelong:Desktop: Files:M:Mark A. Monaco Foundation:Monaco Golf Save Date PCard:2018:Links:Pics:1:A-_8748 (4).jpg"

in mydatamerge mentioned above you could simply use (and you could use an excel file) "A-_8748 (4).jpg"

And from inside the app you could tell in which folders to look for the images. That's how data merge should work in general - Adobe look closely.

Answer 2

I think there's a missing text at your .csv doc, the HD, the user, and after the location:

On a Mac system – Macintosh HD:Users:User Name:MyDocuments:Image.psd

To get the real path click on a image and press Cmnd + i and copy the Where line from the General submenu.