| Database publishing simplified!
Daybook Publisher makes it easy to publish your catalogue using InDesign. It does all the hard, boring work for you! The process, in a nutshell, goes like this:
1. Get your data into the Publisher database. You can either enter it manually, import a delimited text file, or (Data Chameleon Edition) retrieve it from a MySql or ODBC-compliant database or spreadsheet (such as Microsoft SqlServer, Access, etc.)
2. Set up Style Sheets in the Daybook Publisher database. These tell Publisher what data you want to publish and how you want it sorted and formatted. You can have any number of Style Sheets, so you can publish your data in lots of different ways (and to various publishing destinations).
3. Select the records you want to publish.
4. Export the data to a text file, using one of your Style Sheets. The file can be in InDesign Tags format, XML, or xTags. (For an explanaiton of the diferent file formats, please see Options for Publishing with InDesign.)
5. Import that text file into your InDesign template. All the text is - magically - formatted exactly as you want it to be, even with pictures included if appropriate (xTags and XML formats)! For this example we're using the XML format.
OK then, let's see just how easy it is!
For the purposes of this Tutorial, we are using the Demo Database that is supplied with the Daybook Publisher Demo. If you would like to follow along and try it for yourself, you can download the fully-functional Demo from here.
Publish a Catalogue with Pictures
For this example we are going to create a catalog that shows photographs offered for sale by our fictitious stock photo agency, Castlephotos. The photos are organised into Categories; the Categories are sorted in alphabetical order with the appropriate photos listed under each one, also sorted alphabetically by name. For each picture we will include the following data:
* The picture name
* The picture itself
* A description
* The name of the photographer
* Prices
Step One: Set up a Publishing Style Sheet
Publishing Style Sheets tell Daybook Publisher:
* What data to publish
* How to sort it
* How to format it
The Publishing Style Sheet we are using for this project is called Picture Catalogue by Category (to view or edit Publishing Style Sheets, choose Publishing Style Sheets from the Publishing menu). It looks like this:
We are going to use the XML format option for this example.
Perhaps the most important thing here is the list of Paragraphs. This is where we specify exactly what data is going to be published and how it will be formatted. For example, the first paragraph will be the picture name, and it will be formatted using a style sheet called "Name". Paragraphs can contain any number of elements; there are seven element types:
* Data from a field in the database (Picture Name, for example)
* Static text (such as "Price, framed: ")
* A formula. Formulas are a very versatile tool which enable you to tell Daybook Publisher how to make decisions about what to include - or leave out - and, optionally, how to format it.
* Punctuation (such as a tab character)
* A calculation (for example, you could discount all prices by 15% for a sale catalogue)
* A picture
* A relation (relations enable you to include information from a related table. In our example, the Pictures table is related to the Photographers table so when we are publishing Pictures, we can easily include information about the photographer who owns each picture).
Elements are the building blocks of paragraphs.
A quick look at the Prices paragraph (double-click on it in the list of Paragraphs) shows us that it is comprised of four elements:
The detailed workings of Publishing Style Sheets are covered in a separate Tutorial.
Step Two: Select the data you want to publish
Since, for this example, our data is sorted by Category, we start by selecting the category (or categories) that we want to publish (Animals in this case). To select the categories, click on the Categories button on the Data floating window or choose Categories from the Data menu. Daybook Publisher will sort the categories and subcategories, and then find the Picture records that belong under each category and sort them.
Step Three: Transfer the data
With the list of Categories displayed, choose Publish all These Records from the File menu and select the Publishing Style Sheet you want to use (Picture Catalogue by Category in this case). Then choose XML as the Publishing Destination and hit the OK button to create the transfer file.
Step Four: Import the transfer file into your InDesign template
Open up your InDesign template, or create a new document with a two-column Master Text Frame. We have included a sample catalogue template with the Daybook Publisher demo: it's called catalog.idd and you will find it in the Goodies folder.
Now for the fun part...
* With your InDesign document open, make sure that the insertion point is in the first text box.
* Choose Import XML ... from the File menu
* Select the file you just created.
* Click on the Open button
* The file is imported into your InDesign document and displayed in the Structure panel to the left of the screen. If you expand some of the XML elements, the structure looks like this:
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Listings is the root element. category1 is the top-level category (Animals,in this example) picture is the picture that will be used for the category name. category2 is the second-level category (a sub-category under Animals - Birds, for example) Pictures are the selection of Picture records that belong under each sub-category record is an individual Picture record.
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Now, to create the catalogue, simply drag an element from the XML list onto the document layout. You can place individual elements, or create the entire catalog in one go by dragging the category1 element to the document layout.
Watch in amazement as the catalogue is created before your very eyes! It should look like this:
It really is that simple!
Note: In our InDesign catalog document, we have set up Style Sheets and mapped them to the XML elements, so that the text will be automatically formatted as the XML data is placed. If you have created a new InDesign document for your catalogue, you will need to create style sheets and then map them to the XML elements (to do this, choose Map Tags to Styles from the flyout Structure menu in the Structure pane).
What do do next ...
Download a fully functional Demo and try it for yourself
Look at other Tutorials
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