How to Automatically Import Multiple Images with Data Merge in InDesign

Overview

This video tutorial by Anne (Graphic Design How To) explains how to automatically place multiple images in Adobe InDesign using Data Merge. It imports image file paths and captions from a CSV exported from Google Sheets.

Core workflow / technological steps

1) Prepare a data source in Google Sheets

• Use a free Google Sheets account.
• Create a column for images in cell A1.
  • The header must start with an apostrophe and @image so InDesign treats the values as image file references, not text (e.g., ’@image).
• Add a second column for captions.
  • The tutorial uses the image file name as the caption.

2) Generate correct image file paths for InDesign

Images must be referenced by file paths in the CSV.

Mac method (TextEdit)

• Create a plain text file (Format → Make Plain Text).
• Drag image files into the text document to extract their paths.
• Use Find and Replace to remove everything except the relevant portion (keeps .../images/ + filename).

PC method

• Select images → right-click → Copy as Path → paste into Google Sheets.

3) Export the data

• Export the sheet as a CSV (File → Download → CSV).
• Put the CSV in the same project folder as the images to keep paths consistent.

InDesign setup and Data Merge configuration

Create a new InDesign document

• Example: Letter size.

Open Data Merge

• Window → Utilities → Data Merge
• Select the CSV data source:
  • Hamburger menu → Select Data Source → choose CSV

Map spreadsheet fields to InDesign frames

• Select the image frame → assign the Image field from the data source.
• Create a text frame for captions → assign the Caption field.

Customize caption styling

• Change font to Montserrat (example shown: regular, 10 pt).
• Captions are centered underneath each image.

Merged layout behavior

• Use Create Merged Document
  • Select merge all records
  • In Multiple Record Layout, configure how many images appear per page
• Use Preview and adjust:
  • Spacing between columns
  • Spacing between rows
• The tutorial mentions an alert about text being cut off, which is addressed as part of the workflow.

Output / usage notes

• The merge generates as many pages as needed, grouping images by page according to the multiple-record layout.
• Save the resulting InDesign file (example name: “Auto Images”).
• Export to PDF or print directly from InDesign.

Key required folder structure

A project folder should include:

• An InDesign file
• An Images folder (or similarly named folder matching the path portion used in the CSV, such as /images/)
• The CSV data file containing @image paths and captions

Main speaker / source

• Anne — Graphic Design How To (YouTube video creator/tutorial author)