Create a text frame on your document page or parent page where you want variable text to appear.
Last updated on
Jun 2, 2026
Learn how to insert field placeholders and format them to control how merged data appears in your Adobe InDesign document.
After selecting a data source in the Data Merge panel, insert field placeholders into your target document where you want variable content to appear. These placeholders display as text in double angle brackets (such as <<name>>) or as image frames, and you can format them to control the appearance of merged data. The Data Merge panel displays all available fields from your data source, with icons indicating whether a field is a text or image field.
Insert text data fields
Place the insertion point in the text frame at the exact location for the field, or select existing text to replace.
In the Data Merge panel (Window > Utilities > Data Merge), select the field name you want to insert. You cannot create valid fields by typing field names manually or editing existing field text. Always insert fields from the Data Merge panel to ensure proper merging.
Format the field placeholder by selecting it and applying character formatting such as font, size, color, or style.
Insert image data fields
To create a floating image, select an existing empty frame or graphics frame with the Selection tool.
In the Data Merge panel, drag the image field name (marked with an image icon) onto the selected frame.
Resize the frame to determine the dimensions for merged images.
To create an inline image instead, place the insertion point in a text frame, then select the image field name in the Data Merge panel.
Tip
To view an image's full path for your data source file, place any image in InDesign, select it in the Links panel, and select Copy Info > Copy Full Path from the panel menu. This technique helps when building data source files that reference server images.
Add image fields in the data source file
Open your data source file in a spreadsheet application or text editor.
Type @ at the beginning of the column header name (for example, @Photos or @Logos).
If Excel shows an error when you type @ at the start of a field, add an apostrophe before it (for example, '@Photos) to make it valid.
Enter the file path for each image under the header.
Save the data source file in comma-delimited (CSV), tab-delimited (TXT), or semicolon-delimited format.
To confirm the image path, copy the full file path from InDesign:
- Place an image in an InDesign document using File > Place.
- Select the placed image.
- Open the Links panel (Window > Links).
- Choose Copy Info > Copy Full Path.
- Paste the path into your data source file and edit it to match the required format.
Path format examples
Windows
|
Name |
Age |
Photos path |
|
Bill Tucker |
36 |
C:\Photos\BillTucker.jpg |
|
Dat Nguyen |
53 |
C:\MyDocuments\dat.gif |
|
Maria Ruiz |
26 |
C:\Photos\Ruiz.psd |
macOS
|
Name |
Age |
Photos path |
|
Bill Tucker |
36 |
/Photos/BillTucker.jpg |
|
Dat Nguyen |
53 |
/Desktop/Family/dat.gif |
|
Maria Ruiz |
26 |
/Photos/Ruiz.psd |
Note
- InDesign supports both absolute paths (full file paths from the root directory) and relative paths (paths relative to the location of the data source file).
- On macOS, InDesign uses POSIX-style paths (with forward slashes) by default.
- On macOS, use POSIX-style paths to ensure compatibility with current and future versions of InDesign.
Edit or remove field placeholders
To change formatting, select the entire field placeholder, including the angle brackets, then apply new character or paragraph formatting.
To replace one field with another, select the placeholder and select a different field name in the Data Merge panel.
To remove a field, select the placeholder and press Backspace or Delete.
After inserting and formatting all necessary fields, preview your merged data by clicking Preview at the bottom of the Data Merge panel. Use the navigation buttons to cycle through records and verify that formatting appears correctly.
Update data fields
After you merge a document that uses data placeholders on parent pages, you can change the layout and still update the data values. Use the Update Content in Data Fields option to refresh the data while maintaining the current layout. This option is available only for merged documents that use placeholders on parent pages.
Make any changes to the data source file and then save and close the data source file.
In InDesign, open the merged document that you want to update.
Select Window > Utilities > Data Merge.
Select Update Content in Data Fields in the Data Merge panel menu. InDesign records any changes made during the update in a log file. This option works best when you only edit or add records in the data source file. If you add placeholder fields, add new fields to the data source, or change settings in the Create Merged Document dialog box, use the Create Merged Document option to generate a new merged document.
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