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Data Matrix Barcodes in Adobe InDesign using Data Merge

Data Matrix 2D Barcodes in Adobe InDesign using Data Merge

  • This tutorial shows how to create QR Code 2D barcodes in Adobe InDesign using an Excel file as a data source.

Step 1A. Import module into Excel

  •  Click on Developer tab, select Visual Basic, or press ALT + F11 on keyboard
  • Right-click the Excel Object and select Import File...
  • Select BarCodeWizDataMatrix.bas.
  • The default location of the file is:
    C:\Program Files\BarCodeWiz\BarCodeWiz Data Matrix Fonts
  • The following module should now be part of the Access file.

Change the line:

DataMatrixEncode = bcwiz.Encode(strBarcode, symbolSize, dataMatrixEncoding, allowSpecialChars, isGs1, quietZoneWidth, borderWidth, characterEncoding)

to:

DataMatrixEncode = bcwiz.Encode(strBarcode, symbolSize, dataMatrixEncoding, allowSpecialChars, isGs1, quietZoneWidth, borderWidth, characterEncoding,"@")

 

(Add "@" at the end of paragraph) 

Step 1B. Prepare the data to be merged

  • Open the Excel file with data to convert or enter the values. Our example has the following data:
  • Use the function =DataMatrixEncode

Save the file as Text (Tab Delimited), or CSV UTF-8 (Comma Delimited) format

  • Click on File > Save As
  • For InDesign versions older than 2022 Select CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) and enter the name of the file: DataMatrix_merge_data.csv. Or simply save the file as Text (Tab Delimited), or Unicode Text.
  • Close Excel. Otherwise, InDesign will not import the file. 

Step 2. Start Data Merge in Adobe InDesign

  • Click Window > Utilities > Data Merge

Step 3. Select Data Source

  • Right-click the panel menu icon and click Select Data Source...

    NOTE!     Close Excel before importing the file. If the file is open, InDesign won't open it. 
  • Browse for the file we saved in step 2 and click Open.
  • The fields are now shown in the Data Merge panel.
  • Insert text field into the document

Step 4. Create the Merged Document

  • Click on the Create Merged Document button at the bottom of the panel.
  • Select which records to merge and click OK. We are selecting All Records here.

Step 5. Find the @ sign

  • Press CTRL + F  on your keyboard.
  • Set Find what and Change to fields as presented. 
  • With all the @ signs removed, the document should look like this
  • Set the font to BCW_DM
  • Font size to 12
  • Line spacing to 12 (should be same as Font Point Size used).
    NOTE:  For smaller barcodes, you can set the point size as low as 2pt - set line spacing accordingly

Finished!