Importing

Importing Data from a Text File

To import information from a text file, add a File Data field using the Insert > File Data command. Then link the field with a text file. Double-click on the field two times to open the properties panel. Then, click the Choose… button in the panel to bring up the import dialog. Select a text file, set up the import options, and click the Open button.

Barcodes can also use text files as a data source.

Text files must be saved in the plain text format that is discussed below. As a rule, spreadsheets can be exported to so-called tab-delimited text files.

Import Options

Import Options

By selecting the First row is header check box, you skip importing the first row. This basically says that the first row is not data. It is full of headers for the data below.

The Single Column Data and Multiple Column Data options let you define if each line should be treated as one piece of information (one column), or as several (multiple columns). In the second case you should select the delimiter type, and the column number from which data should be imported. A delimiter is a character or space that lets the program know where one column ends, and another begins.

Keep the default Encoding unless you know the encoding of your file. If the imported text is unreadable (usually characters are replaced with some symbols), reimport with another character encoding selected.

Update Data in Barcodes and Dynamic Fields

Dynamic data fields and barcodes can re-import data from the respective data source files. In order to update information in all dynamic data fields and barcodes that are linked to files, select File > Update Linked Data in the main menu.

Text File Format

The input text file may have all data organized in one or several columns.

One-column structure:

[TEXT][RETURN]
[TEXT][RETURN]
...
[TEXT][RETURN]

Example:

Abstract Vision
Autumn Fire
Bend the Guitar
Blues Moon

Multi-column structure:

[LINE 1, COLUMN 1][DELIMITER][LINE 1, COLUMN 2][DELIMITER]...[LINE 1, COLUMN n][DELIMITER][RETURN]
[LINE 2, COLUMN 1][DELIMITER][LINE 2, COLUMN 2][DELIMITER]...[LINE 2, COLUMN n][DELIMITER][RETURN]
...
[LINE m, COLUMN 1][DELIMITER][LINE m, COLUMN 2][DELIMITER]...[LINE m, COLUMN n][DELIMITER][RETURN]

An example with a semicolon used as the delimiter:

1;Abstract Vision;572
2;Autumn Fire;204
3;Bend the Guitar;368
4;Blues Moon;176

 

If your data is stored in a database or spreadsheet, export it to a tab- or comma-delimited text file.

To create a text file manually:

  1. Open a new document in the Text Edit application.
  2. Switch to the plain text format (Format > Make Plain Text or Cmd-Shift-T).
  3. Add several lines of text. Use a semicolon or tabulation to split a line into several columns.
  4. Save the file.

Do not add any unnecessary symbols! Otherwise you will break the file structure.