A Designer’s Guide to Adobe InDesign and XML: Harness the Power of XML to Automate your Print and Web Workflows

Chapter 8. Variable Data

<feature><title>Chapter Objectives</title>

In this chapter you will learn how to:

<objective>

Build nested XML sub-structures

</objective> <objective>

Create variable-text driven layouts

</objective> <objective>

Flow complex XML data into anchored objects

</objective> </feature>

Okay, we’ve got to confess we have mixed feelings about this project, probably similar to the way Oppenheimer felt about creating the A-bomb. On one side, the tricks you learn in this chapter are definitely among the coolest in the XML/InDesign world. On the other hand, we’ve all seen clunky examples of personalized direct mail where the customized areas are plopped into a shell of a layout. We would like this chapter to show you that variable data elements ...