Integrates directly with existing data sources
EasyCatalog does not require its own database – the EasyCatalog architecture is such that it can integrate directly with your existing data. EasyCatalog currently supports:
- Delimited files, such as CSV or tab-delimited
- Excel spreadsheets
- Google Docs Spreadsheets
- Any ODBC-compliant database using the optional ODBC Data Provider
- An XML file or XML feed from a URL using the optional XML Data Provider
- An Asset Management or PIM system using the optional Enterprise Data Provider
Custom development work can also be undertaken to directly communicate with proprietary databases, where the generic ODBC Data Provider is not sufficient.
Don’t have a database? No problem!
EasyCatalog works just as well if your data is not stored in a database: the plug-in can work just as well with a delimited file. For instance, if your data is stored in an Excel spreadsheet it can be imported into directly into EasyCatalog.
Data Caching
EasyCatalog does not require a permanent connection to your data source as all data is cached locally on each InDesign machine. When starting work on a catalog, a snapshot of the data will be taken that can then be used to build the catalog. When you’re ready, update the local snapshot with the changes made on the database. EasyCatalog knows what’s changed, and can then update the document accordingly.
This caching mechanism also reduces load on the database server, and does not require a database query to be performed every time the user launches InDesign.
No more Cut and Paste!
As EasyCatalog imports directly from a database or file, data no longer has to be cut-and-pasted to the InDesign document. Not only does this vastly increase productivity due to the time saved, but also removes the risk of data being copied and formatted incorrectly.
