If it’s linked, you’ll see the “X” through the graphic as in my screenshot. You can’t assign variables to grouped text, so be sure to ungroup everything before attempting it.įor your graphic, make sure the file is LINKED and not EMBEDDED. The only text issue you need to clear up is to make sure none of the text is grouped. It could all be gibberish, as long as you have everything placed and styled the way you want. Honestly, it doesn’t matter what text is in there right now. There’s a linked placeholder graphic for images, and the rest are all text objects. If you’re like me, you already set up one of the files you need, and then suddenly realized you have 50 more of these to do.Ĭhecking my screenshot below, I have a file set up with a number of variables. This seems like a lot to do, but you’ll burn through these steps pretty quickly once you get the hang of it.
If you’ve ever had to use Adobe Illustrator to set up multiple variations of a single file, then using the “Variable Data” feature could save you a lot of time.
SUPER-DUPER Update: I’ve completed a 2.5 hour course on how to use the NEW Variable Importer 8.0 script, and it’s available on ! Click to check out more info on the Adobe Illustrator Variable Data course!Īnd now back to our regularly scheduled blog post… It’s achieved using the VariableImporter script, and you can view my newer Adobe Illustrator Variable Data tutorial here! UPDATE: There’s now a much better way to use variable data with Illustrator.