Update Tiered Prices in InDesign Product Catalogs

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Update Tiered Prices and Quantity Discount Tables in InDesign Product Catalogs — the Efficient Way

Let’s say it’s time to update the prices in a manually generated InDesign product catalog or price list. You have a look at how the prices are shown in the document. The prices are tiered and laid out in tables. Each table awaits your touch. That means hours and hours, maybe even days stretching into weeks, of copy-and-paste, copy-and-paste, copy-and-paste, from an Excel table into the InDesign document.

And what happens when not only the prices, but also the tiers of quantity discounts, need to be updated, too? Then there is even more work per table. The tiers in the InDesign document have to be modified to match the new specifications of an Excel table generated by the ERP system.

Updating a catalog with 2,000 items and four tiers per item can therefore easily take between two to three weeks when correction runs are accounted for.

In addition, manually updating every price table in a catalog tends to create mistakes because of the repetitive copy-paste routine. It is no wonder that graphic designers and catalog creation specialists are not necessarily keen on updating prices and often push the assignment off into the future.

In short: Time-consuming, repetitive work updating prices in catalogs can be stressful, time-consuming, difficult to manage, and prone to errors. That’s when it’s time to automate price updates.

Automatically update price lists with an InDesign plugin

We at T+S make updating tiered prices, graduated prices, bulk prices, scaled prices, and quantity discount levels in your product catalog so much easier and faster by connecting Microsoft Excel with Adobe InDesign using a special InDesign extension created for you. Your custom designed InDesign extension will update all prices and tiered quantity or discount levels in every table and every block of your catalog — lightning fast and free of errors.

The result is an optimized product catalog with accurate and current information, regardless of how many tiered prices are shown.

Optimal adaptation to different pricing formats

Your custom designed InDesign extension from T+S takes into account whichever various tiered price and tiered discount schemes you may use to display prices in your catalog or price list.

The tiers in the table can be displayed horizontally or vertically in tables. Your InDesign extension will update all the tables in the catalog quickly and precisely no matter the exact format of the tables.

Horizontal display in the layout of the InDesign product catalog
Vertical display in the layout of the InDesign product catalog

Which data sources does the InDesign plugin work with?

The InDesign extension works with the following data sources:

  • Microsoft Excel files
  • CSV files
  • JSON files
  • XML files
  • REST web service

The two price layouts of data sources that we see most frequently in our daily work are shown below.

As long as the information about prices and tiered quantities (quantity discounts) is organized in the form of tables in both the source and target documents, the price data and tier data are correctly read by the InDesign extension and then transferred so as to update the price and tiered quantities in the tables in the InDesign document.

Advantages of automatically updating tiered prices and tiered quantities in an InDesign document

Each individual table in your InDesign price list or product catalog is filled with the correct data, which is read by the InDesign plugin directly from your ERP system. That offers you the following advantages:

  • 100% agreement: Prices and quantities in your InDesign document perfectly agree with the specifications in your ERP system. Data quality in your catalog remains high.
  • Speed and efficiency: Prices and quantities are quickly and easily updated, fully automatically.
  • Flexibility: Last-minute changes are possible at any time. (Just re-run the InDesign extension.)
  • Transparency: You can see at a glance (color codes) which prices and quantity ranges have been modified by the extension and which have not changed. This makes quality assurance easier, which in turn accelerates your entire catalog creation workflow.
  • Error recognition: Article numbers in the InDesign document which are wrong can be easily identified and corrected. Finding inconsistencies faster yields higher quality data. A custom InDesign extension helps you focus your efforts so as to spend less time manually correcting errors in both your documents and ERP system.

Easily generate a catalog with up-to-date tiered prices and tiered quantities

A custom InDesign extension from T+S makes updating a product catalog or price list in InDesign a real treat. It takes just one click to run the extension. The extension updates each and every tiered price and tiered or quantity discount — as often and whenever as you would like.

We at T+S are here to help you move on from manual data processes. Update tiered prices in your InDesign product catalogs and price lists today — with your own custom InDesign extension from T+S. Discover how easy and effortless updating prices can be! And be the member of the team that gets the update done without delay and well so that you can deliver high-quality results at a faster pace.

Automate price updates in your product catalogs today!

Get in touch with the experts at T+S to discuss what InDesign scripting can do for you. Secure the benefits of automation today.

Request a quote now

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Database Publishing

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Category: General

What is database publishing?

Database publishing is a method of producing catalogs more efficiently and with more personalization. Database publishing involves saving nonformatted content in databases and automatically assembling the content on page templates at the point of generating the catalog. The result is a fast and cost-effective way to produce catalogs.

What are three advantages of database publishing?

A major advantage of database publishing is the ability to create personalized catalogs for various target audiences. By linking databases with the publishing tool, companies can respond specifically to the needs and interests of their customers. This leads to higher customer satisfaction and a better conversion rate.

Another advantage is more consistent data. The central administration of information in the database ensures that all product information is current and correct. Central management reduces the rate of errors and reduces the effort required to manually check data.

Database publishing also enables catalogs to be updated more rapidly. Changes to product data can be made in the database, and then the modified data automatically fed into the catalog. This method saves time and ensures that customers always have the most up-to-date information at their fingertips.

In summary, database publishing offers several advantages for producing catalogs. Companies that use database publishing can work more efficiently, create personalized content, and increase customer satisfaction. Database publishing offers a modern and future-oriented way of creating catalogs and meeting the needs of the digital age.

How can T+S help my company take full advantage of database publishing?

The database part of database publishing is at the heart of a product information system (PIM system) or master data management system (MDM system). T+S offers a sophisticated PIM system called Contene. When you maintain your product data in Contene, you can automate your catalog production processes to a high degree. Product information, product images, and metadata about products are stored in Contene and then processed or inserted into templates and layouts.

T+S can assist you to develop modern database publishing processes, from discussing your requirements to evaluating the best way to produce catalogs and technical documents, to introducing Contene into your environment, should that be the best PIM system solution for you.

Automate your catalog production today with database publishing

Consult our experts now about your InDesign scripting options from T+S!

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Take Advantage of the New Features of Adobe InDesign Using Plugins and Extensions

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Category: General

The new Adobe InDesign 2024 features can also be used by plugins and extensions

Adobe InDesign offers an API (Application Programming Interface) that plugins and extensions can use to access functions and data in InDesign. The API enables communication between the plugin and the InDesign application. This makes it possible to access the new features in Adobe InDesign 2024:

Automatic formatting of multiple text frames and creating, editing, and managing style packs
Simplify complex formatting tasks by formatting multiple text frames with Auto Format. You can use the style packs provided by Adobe or create and manage your own style packs to make document-specific changes or changes across your entire InDesign account.

Search for text and customize analytics in published documents
Integrate Google Measure ID when publishing your documents to measure traffic and interactions. You can now search your published documents for any text on all devices. While you can only search text on touchscreen devices, you can search and copy text on desktops and laptops.

File name suffix in JPEG and PNG exports
When exporting to the JPEG or PNG format, you can add suffixes; for example, consecutive numbers, page numbers, and page sizes. You can distinguish and easily filter the same file saved in different sizes for different platforms or stakeholders using the suffixes.

Hiding print sheets
Would you like to omit your draft print sheets when presenting or exporting a document? Now you can hide print sheets in InDesign. The hidden print sheets are not visible in the presentation mode of or when exporting your document to PNG, JPEG, PDF (print), or PDF (interactive) formats.

Harfbuzz as the default formatting engine in the global typesetter
With Harfbuzz as the default shaping engine in the global typesetter, you get improved shaping and correct rendering of glyphs for Indian and MENA languages in InDesign.

So if you wish to use these new features, it is only a small step to automate further design and production tasks in the plugin or extension.

Would you like to learn more about catalog production or InDesign extensions?

Would you like to discuss your catalog production with T+S to get ideas for its automation?
Please contact our InDesign experts today.

Contact T+S

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Improving Working with Large Documents and Large Projects in Adobe InDesign

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Category: General

When you create a large catalog encompassing several hundred pages, paying attention to a few things will help to make the project run more smoothly. We’ve put together six essential tips to help you deal with larger documents while avoiding pitfalls.

  1. Limit the size of each document.
    Create documents that are each smaller than 100 pages long. Adobe InDesign loads smaller files faster and keeps all pages in the main memory of your computer at the same time. Lighter documents load faster and are easier to deal with. This increases the performance and stability of Adobe InDesign.

  2. Use the Book feature in Adobe InDesign.
    When you start your InDesign project, create a Book file when you create your first document. (Open InDesign and click on File > New > Book.) Using a Book file pays off as soon as multiple documents are bound into one book — synchronizing page numbers, character styles, paragraph styles, table styles, cell styles, and object styles across your Book file becomes simpler. The book feature also supports you to generate a table of contents and create links between the documents.

  3. Place the book file in the Adobe Cloud.
    Place the book file in the Adobe Cloud if you are working on distributed documents at the same time. Putting your project in the cloud allows you to synchronize styles across time, space, and network boundaries. All documents will then have the same style definitions, too.

  4. Use “Save as …” instead of “Save.”
    When you save changes to your document, use the “Save as …” command now and then instead of “Save.” Using “Save as …” will significantly reduce the file size of your InDesign documents because the document will be completely rewritten. “Save” preserves the old page and object versions of the document’s internal structure, adding the new versions at the end of the file. Only “Save as …” rewrites all internal file references to clean up the file.

  5. Activate the preflight function only if required and reduce the display quality of images
    Switch on the InDesign preflight function only if you want to check your document for potential errors. Otherwise, leave the preflight function switched off. This will significantly reduce the processor load and help InDesign to keep several large documents in the main memory at the same time. If you also reduce the display quality of graphics, you can switch between the pages of the current document much faster and work more smoothly.

  6. Turn off “Search for missing links.”
    Disable the check for missing links (images/graphics) in the InDesign default settings. This eliminates the annoying wait when opening the document, as it does not check if all image files are actually present.

Would you like to discover more about catalog production or InDesign extensions?

If you would like to talk at no obligation about automating your catalog production with T+S, please contact our InDesign experts. Phone: +49 89 54746 433
Send a message to T+S

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How to Efficiently Produce Catalogs in Foreign Languages

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Category: General

Use our InDesign extension to automate localization

Catalogs in foreign languages or multiple languages are important for addressing customers in international markets. A catalog that describes and illustrates your offered assortment of products — in one or more foreign language versions — can boost sales in the respective market.

When producing catalogs in a foreign language version, also known as localization, many companies in the German-speaking region (DACH) begin with what is familiar, so they start with their German language catalog. Once the German catalog has been produced, these companies use it as a master catalog to create the foreign language version or versions.

However, the marketing and graphic department quickly recognizes that creating the localized catalog or catalogs can become very time consuming. Many companies transfer all text from the German catalog to a Microsoft Excel document using copy and paste. Next, a translation bureau, agency, or freelance translator translates all the German terms in the Excel table into the desired target foreign language. Then, all the translations are copied and pasted from the Excel table into the proper places in the InDesign file (catalog), replacing the German terms in the process.

This manual copy-and-paste process takes a long time, is inefficient, and is prone to error. In addition, the process must be repeated for each language edition of the catalog and each and every update to all the catalogs, regardless of language edition.

An InDesign extension from T+S can greatly help in producing catalogs in various languages, rapidly, simply, and free of errors.

Three steps to automated catalog production with an InDesign extension

Let’s say you start with a German catalog and wish make one in English just like it.

  1. Using the InDesign function “Conditional Text,” the InDesign extension marks all German text in the InDesign catalog (the master catalog) as “German” and saves all these German texts in a Microsoft Excel workbook in one long column. If a text is present in the catalog more than once (for example, the word “Price” or “Quantity”), the identical text is stored only once in the Excel worksheet.
  2. A translator translates all German terms in the Excel table into English. The English terms are stored in a second column in the Excel worksheet.
  3. The Excel worksheet containing both German and translated (English) terms is read by the InDesign extension. Press a button in InDesign, and the extension replaces the text marked in step 1 as “German” with the corresponding foreign language terms (in this case, the English ones) from the Excel table. The foreign language is marked as “Conditional Text” in the target language. Once all texts marked “German” have a corresponding foreign language equivalent, the catalog in the foreign language is complete.

The InDesign function “Conditional Text” makes it easy for the graphic designer to administer several language versions of in one InDesign document and to toggle back and forth between the versions using the mouse. (Click here to see our blog entry for an example of the use of “Conditional Text.”)

In the future, when the text in the master catalog is changed or new text is added, and there is not yet a foreign language translation in the Excel table for this modified or added text, the InDesign extension can be used to target exactly these modified and added texts and terms. That means that only the changed and added texts need to be translated; all other text already has corresponding translated texts in the Excel worksheet.

This saves on translation time and costs, as only changes and additions need to be translated, not entire catalogs.

Through the use of an InDesign extension from T+S to automatically pull text from catalogs, build up a glossary, and reuse translations, localization of catalogs becomes tremendously easier and faster than using manual routines. Especially when additional languages and future editions of catalogs are taken into consideration, automation using an extension saves valuable time and reduces errors. The extension finds missing translations automatically and can thus save on translation costs as well.

In summary, an InDesign extension from T+S can make producing foreign language catalogs a whole lot less expensive and time-consuming, enabling your company to address its customers and prospects in their preferred languages.

Would you like to learn more about catalog production or InDesign extensions?

Are you interested in discussing with T+S how to automate the production of your catalog?
Contact our experts today!

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InDesign Scripting, InDesign Extension, InDesign Plugin: What They Are and How They Help Graphic Designers, Marketing Managers, and Managing Directors in Everyday Publishing Work.

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Category: General

What is InDesign scripting?

Scripting in Adobe InDesign is a method of programmatically using functions in InDesign. An InDesign script consists of JavaScript code. When Adobe InDesign executes the program code, tasks within InDesign are carried out automatically. Print publishing processes can be automated by using InDesign scripting.

For example, an InDesign script can create a text frame, fill the text frame with text, and assign the text a paragraph format. Likewise, more complex tasks are possible; for example, automatically generating data sheets, price books, e-catalogs, or even product catalogs hundreds of pages long.

For whom is InDesign scripting intended?

For graphic designers working on print projects, InDesign scripting saves time and increases the quality of the produced materials in everyday work life. Repetitive tasks can be completed rapidly without errors through InDesign scripting. Hundreds or even thousands of images, layouts, prices, or other elements in InDesign can be customized or updated in one workflow. This approach boosts productivity while allowing more time for creativity. Last-minute changes (e.g., updating prices) are easier to do as well.

Marketing managers can apply InDesign scripting to increase the recognition value of the brand by producing catalogs and other marketing materials that conform to corporate identity (CI) guidelines. Scripting enables the reuse of available data from a product information management (PIM) system or media asset management (MAM) system, increasing efficiency and accuracy when creating marketing collateral.

InDesign scripting increases the degree of automation of print publishing processes. Managing directors and CEOs can apply InDesign scripting to increase the quality of customer communication through standardizing and reducing errors. Higher quality leads to lower production costs of catalogs and price sheets, reducing time to market as well. In addition, InDesign scripting guarantees the currency of content (prices, item data), which supports sales and distribution over the long term.

What is an InDesign extension? What is an InDesign plugin?

An InDesign extension is a collection of InDesign scripts together with a user interface. The user interface allows a graphic designer (Adobe InDesign user) to control various functions the script can perform.

To installing an InDesign extension in Mac or Windows, a program package is copied into a particular directory. After this, the extension is available for use in Adobe InDesign in the menu “Window” > “Extensions.”

An InDesign plugin is developed in C++ code. An InDesign plugin extends the functionality of InDesign by adding functions that are not standardly available in InDesign. In contrast, InDesign extensions always use functions in InDesign that ship with the standard InDesign product. Because Adobe InDesign runs an InDesign plugin faster than it runs an InDesign script, an InDesign plugin is the better choice when the speed of execution (i.e., performance) is of utmost priority. However, the effort needed to develop an InDesign plugin is higher than that of an InDesign extension.

Which programming language is used to develop InDesign extensions?

The user interface of Adobe InDesign extensions is developed with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. The script itself is developed using a special Adobe JavaScript dialect that is designed for access data in the InDesign Document Object Model (DOM).

Since December 2022, InDesign has also partially supported the Adobe Unified Extensibility Platform (UXP). Adobe UXP is a platform for Adobe Creative Cloud applications, including Adobe Photoshop and Adobe XD. T+S is closely monitoring the further development of UXP for Adobe InDesign. As soon as the integration of UXP in InDesign has reached a point at which it can meet most of the needs of our customers, T+S will offer InDesign extensions developed with Adobe UXP.

Many possibilities to automate publishing workflows

InDesign scripting offers innumerable possibilities of automating and accelerating publishing workflows while removing errors and sources of error. If you would like to find out how you can successfully apply InDesign scripting and InDesign extensions in your publishing processes, please contact T+S.

Find out how you can successfully apply InDesign scripting and InDesign extensions in your publishing processes.

Discuss your needs with our experts.

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New Video! Update Prices in InDesign Catalogs Quickly with InDesign Scripting!

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Category: General

Do you subject your customers to ancient price catalogs and lengthy price lists just because manually updating prices in catalogs and on lists takes way too much time and effort? We have the solution for you.

Please turn on the subtitles (CC) for the English translation.

For more information, please read our blog post on updating prices automatically using InDesign scripting to create catalogs in InDesign.

Update prices faster. Talk to T+S about it now.

Update prices using a custom InDesign script from T+S. Discuss your needs with our experts.

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Use the T+S InDesign Variable Data Printing (VDP) Plugin to Automate the Creation of Personalized Sales and Marketing Collateral

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Category: General

  • Connect data sets (CSV, PIM, DAM) to Adobe InDesign
  • Fill InDesign templates with the variable data elements to personalize documents automatically
  • Automatically personalize brochures, invitations, catalogs, and more

Manufacturers selling through large distributor networks may wish to provide their resellers and dealers highly personalized B2B sales collateral and digital assets. Customized materials help distributors drive sales of products and close deals.

Centrally produced promotional materials such as invitations to house fairs, brochures, vouchers, product announcements, flyers, and media kits that are personalized with the respective dealer addresses and logos work to strengthen the effect of marketing communication while staying on brand.

The marketing departments and agencies tasked with producing this collateral face the challenge of inserting fully personalized company-approved content elements, or variable data, into Adobe InDesign master pages (templates) that conform to brand and CI (corporate identity) guidelines.

When creating these marketing documents with Adobe InDesign, graphic designers may quickly reach the limits of the data merge functionality within InDesign. Therefore, the Adobe InDesign scripting experts at T+S developed an InDesign plugin for variable data printing (VDP) that takes into account the special needs of marketing automation.

The plugin allows graphic designers to create multi-page InDesign templates and to connect placeholder fields (text, images, QR codes) with an imported data source (CSV file, PIM, DAM). Before the sales and marketing documents are generated, the correctness of the defined settings is checked with selected data sets. The plugin automatically creates the personalized documents in separate subdirectories for each record of the data source. All documents created in a data set (PDF files, JPG files, InDesign document) can be zipped by the plugin into one file, the promotional kit. Then only one file needs to be sent to each distributor or made available for download.

If needed, the variable data printing plugin (InDesign extension) can be customized to special requirements. That can involve a direct connection to your ERP system to fully automatic production of sales and marketing documents using InDesign Server.

Would you like to support your dealer network with personalized marketing collateral that conforms to your corporate identity? Are you interested in variable data printing to automate your personalization projects?

Find out more about what InDesign scripting from T+S can do for you from our experts.

Contact T+S today!

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QR Codes: Help Your Customers Order Online by Connecting Your Offline Catalog with the Online World

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Category: General

  • Automate QR code placement in InDesign with a custom InDesign script from T+S
  • Seamlessly connect print catalogs to your online shop using QR codes 
  • Make ordering easier for your customers

Compared to tablets running a catalog app, print catalogs offer several advantages: They don’t require electricity, are always “activated”, and don’t require a WiFi or Internet connection. However, to order from the catalog, your customer must use a telephone or web shop (media break). The item in the catalog first has to be searched for and found in the online shop before it can be ordered.

Why not seamlessly combine offline with online? A Quick Response (QR) code makes it easy. A QR code is a small two-dimensional pixel pattern that contains a coded link (URL) to a website. The QR codes are inserted in the print catalog next to the respective items. QR readers on a smartphone or tablet allow your customer to jump directly from viewing a page in a print catalog to viewing that item in your online store.

But how can graphic designers place hundreds or even thousands of QR codes in a print catalog? InDesign scripting can do! T+S can develop a customized InDesign plugin for your exact requirements. The script reads the article numbers in your catalog, creates the corresponding QR codes, and places the codes as graphics (images) at the designated spaces on the pages of the catalog – automatically! QR code by QR code. Page by page!

Each QR code matches to the correct corresponding article and links to the correct corresponding URL. InDesign scripting from T+S gets the job done for you — without errors and reliably.

Would you like to connect your print catalogs to the digital world through QR codes?

Get information from our experts about InDesign scripting from T+S.

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Update Prices – 100% Automatically!

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Category: General

  • Save time and money in the long run using InDesign scripts from T+S
  • React swiftly and flexibly to price adjustments and last-minute changes

Surely you know this situation: The new manually created catalog is ready, just add a few last-minute changes, and then the catalog is ready to be published. Finished once again! And next time? Then you probably have to copy and paste every single price – article number after article number – from a Microsoft Excel table into the Adobe InDesign document. When thousands of prices have to be updated, this activity takes a very long time and in addition, errors tend to creep in.

Do you subject your customers to ancient price catalogs and lengthy price lists just because manually updating prices in catalogs and on lists takes way too much time and effort?

The solution is InDesign scripting.

InDesign scripts from T+S for updating prices first analyze the manually created price catalogs by detecting the article numbers and corresponding prices. Then the scripts look in the available Excel files for the article numbers found, select the prices, and replace the old prices in the InDesign document with new prices.

Each manually created price catalog is a little different from the next. Sometimes article numbers are separated from prices through a tab in a paragraph structure. In other catalogs, article numbers and prices are arranged in a table. In a cross-classified table, the price results from a combination of entries in the table header and the table cell. Custom-built InDesign scripts from T+S take these differences into account. The experts at T+S create an optimum solution in each case.

T+S also offers solutions for cases in which the article number does not even appear in the InDesign document. With a special InDesign plug-in, you tag the relevant prices invisibly with article numbers. The effort taken to do this once definitely pays off during the next round of price updates.

Custom InDesign scripts from T+S update prices in minutes instead of days or even weeks. All replaced prices receive a special mark in the InDesign document so that you can see (visually recognize) which prices have been updated. If a price is not marked during an updating run, it means that the article number in the document was not found in the Excel file. That could be because the article number is incorrect, or because the correct article number is not contained in the Excel table. The visual check gives you the certainty of knowing that all prices have been updated. Some of our customers have found errors in their price catalog this way – errors that had gone unnoticed for years.

With InDesign scripts specially adapted to your needs, you can react swiftly and flexibly to price adjustments and last-minute price changes. At the push of a button – within a few minutes – the current prices are applied, error-free, every time. 100% automatically. 

Please have a look at our new video about how to update prices in InDesign catalogs quickly with InDesign scripting. Also have a look at a more comprehensive view of updating prices with InDesign.

Update prices faster. Talk to T+S about it now.

Update prices using a custom InDesign script from T+S. Discuss your needs with our experts.

Your message to T+S

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