Layout flow mode: When your content should flow like text

Most merges put each record in a fixed spot. Layout Flow Mode does the opposite: it lets your records flow one after another across pages, the way text fills a document – perfect for catalogs, directories, and price lists.

When you want flow

Reach for flow when your output is a continuous publication rather than separate documents:

• a product catalog where entries run down the page and onto the next;
• a directory of members, listings, or contacts;
• a price list that’s as long as your data demands.

Instead of "one record, one page," records keep flowing until the data runs out, and pages are added as needed.

How it’s different

In a fixed layout, you place each value at a set position. In flow mode, you design a layout block – a reusable unit – and, from the node editor, decide which block is placed and when, driven by your data. DataMergeStudio flows those blocks into the page, filling and adding pages automatically. Add records and the publication grows; remove them and it shrinks.

What makes flow work

Flow mode leans on a few InDesign building blocks working together: a layout block for one record, a master spread that shapes the pages content flows onto, a primary text frame that the flow runs into, and break rules for when something should start fresh. The next articles cover each.

Next

Start with the repeating unit: What Is a Layout Block?