John Garrett provides instruction on how to save your Excel file as a CSV file, or a tab-delimited text file, which is necessary for importing into the Variable Importer script. He explains why you might want to save a native format document as well as your CSV, in case style formatting is needed later.
- [Voiceover] Now that we've finished…setting up our spreadsheet, it's time to save it out…to a format that the variable importer will accept.…Right now, the file is in Excel format.…When creating my spreadsheet, I prefer to work with…either Excel or NeoOffice native format documents…because I can style the sheet using bold fonts…or add colors to the rows to make…viewing the data a bit easier.…By native format, I mean the default…file type that the program saves files with.…For Excel, that will be xls or xlsx.…
And for a NeoOffice spreadsheet it will be…ods, which stands for open document spreadsheet,…but unfortunately, the variable importer…won't accept either of these formats,…so I'll have to save the file as something else.…The file types we can use are csv,…which stands for comma separated value, or we can…also save as a txt text file with tab delimited data.…If you remember our video on dealing…with graph data in the spreadsheet,…this is a very similar procedure.…In Excel, I'll just do a Save As,…and in the Format menu at the bottom of the window,…
Author
John Garrett
Released
4/26/2016Designer John Garrett appreciates the many different types of variables and their practical uses, including generating business cards and direct mailers. In this course, he explains how to use variable data including managing linked images, graphics, tables of data, and graphs. He covers the entire workflow, from setup to exporting dynamic batches.
- Setting up Illustrator files
- Using Appearances
- Setting up data sources
- Importing data
- Managing linked variables
- Binding and using prepend paths and presets
- Using the Variables panel
- Naming data sets
- Generating multiple versions with batch exporting
Skill Level Advanced
Duration
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Introduction
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1. Exploring Variable Data
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What Is Variable Data?1m 12s
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Different types of variables4m 16s
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2. Setting up Illustrator Files
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Naming objects4m 25s
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Using area type2m 32s
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Using point type1m 57s
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Using variable data graphics4m 50s
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3. Setting up a CSV Document
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Setting up data in Excel3m 25s
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Saving a CSV file3m 11s
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4. Importing using Variable Importer Script
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Opening Variable Importer3m 19s
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Creating and using presets1m 32s
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Testing and importing a CSV2m 22s
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5. Working with the Variables Panel
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Uploading data sets4m 8s
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Dealing with overset text3m 41s
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6. Exporting and Reviewing
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Creating a save action3m 25s
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Conclusion
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Next steps1m 12s
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Video: Saving a CSV file