Using FusionPro VDP to place ID Badge Images

[CreativeCharacter]

Hello,

I'm very new to this software and have only ever used it to set up mailing panels for postcards and newsletters (that get folded and mailed). A new project is coming in where I have been asked to place images and text, for ID Cards, using FusionPro.

I've looked through some guides, but I feel as though I'm missing an important step. Has anyone done this for a similar project.

I would love if someone could give me a "layman's Guide" to setting up this file. Do the images need a naming convention? Do I need a CSV file for the images? Can I have FusionPro place images and text in the same file?

I am currently using FusionPro VDP Creator 8.1.2
For many of our projects I use InDesign to create the design file and then Acrobat Pro (with FusionPro) to add in the VDP information.

Any help with this would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thank you!

[FreightTrain]

CreativeCharacter,
What you are trying to do sounds pretty straight forward. Let's assume you have only 2 fields for the badge: "Name" and "Portrait"

Create your CSV (or tabbed delimited) file with those two fields in row 1 columns 1 being "Name" and column 2 being "Portrait". Your second row contains the values corresponding to each: "Joe Blow" on C1 and "jblow.jpg" in C2. Each subsequent row would contain each respective value for each ID.

Once the list is done, designate the Name frame as "Variable Text" and your Portrait frame as "Variable Graphic", both using the FusionPro palette in InDesign. Then export the document from InDesign using the FusionPro export (this creates the PDF).

In Acrobat/FusionPro specify your data source (the one defined above). Once this is completed, from the FusionPro menu along the top, goto: FusionPro > Data Definition > Input Options > Click "Edit Fields". Select the Portrait field and click "Edit". Switch the Type from "Text" to "Graphic". Click OK, OK, Close.

Next define your Resources (step 2). These are all the files referenced in your data file (CSV) under the "Portrait" column.

Finally insert your "Name" field into the text frame and the "Portrait" field into the Graphic frame. Preview and test.

Hope this helps

[CreativeCharacter]

FreightTrain,
That sounds simple enough. One problem I run into is exporting multiple frames from inDesign. When I select both frames and then export, there are no frames in the PDF file. Is there a workaround for this, or am I missing a step?

[dreimer]

Did you define a data source in Fusion Pro?

Otherwise you can just create the frames through Fusion Pro manually instead of through InDesign.

[CreativeCharacter]

Originally Posted by FreightTrain

Once the list is done, designate the Name frame as "Variable Text" and your Portrait frame as "Variable Graphic", both using the FusionPro palette in InDesign. Then export the document from InDesign using the FusionPro export (this creates the PDF).

How do you designate two different frames to export from inDesign? I can only do one, and if I attempt two I have no variable frames in the exported PDF. I know I can just draw in the boxes, but it would be easier and more specific if I could do it from inDesign.

[CreativeCharacter]

Sorry, I feel like I'm all over the place because I keep having different questions.

I have it working now (I just drew the frames on the file), but the image quality seems extremely low. Is that just in preview mode, or will the "composed" output file be that low? Also, is there a way to crop the image to the frame size? The images I'm working with vary in width and height.

Thank you so much for all of your help so far. It has really helped me better understand this system!

[David Miller]

Originally Posted by CreativeCharacter

How do you designate two different frames to export from inDesign? I can only do one, and if I attempt two I have no variable frames in the exported PDF. I know I can just draw in the boxes, but it would be easier and more specific if I could do it from inDesign.

The FusionPro plugin for InDesign needs to be present. From InDesign: Window > FusionPro. Using InDesign's selection tool, select one of the frames that you want to be variable. In the FusionPro panel, check Export as, then check the type of frame that it should be exported as.

Repeat as necessary.

When done, be sure to use the FusionPro panel to Export Document...