{"id":1485,"date":"2014-06-04T16:36:15","date_gmt":"2014-06-04T14:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ozalto.com\/?p=1485"},"modified":"2015-08-23T23:49:10","modified_gmt":"2015-08-23T21:49:10","slug":"bar-graphs-with-indesign-easycatalog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ozalto.com\/en\/bar-graphs-with-indesign-easycatalog\/","title":{"rendered":"Bar graphs with InDesign & EasyCatalog"},"content":{"rendered":"

EasyCatalog is terrific<\/strong> for injecting large sets of data quickly and precisely. However, is it possible to create bar graphs<\/strong> thanks to this plugin ? Yes<\/strong> it is, all you need is a bit of\u00a0ingenuity\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

A) Raw data<\/h3>\n

For our demonstration, we will use some public open data<\/strong>. We will consider the evolution of the services business per country. These data can be found on the World Bank website\u00a0\u00a0: http:\/\/donnees.banquemondiale.org\/indicateur\/BG.GSR.NFSV.GD.ZS\/countries<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

The data host a percentage of the services business<\/strong> between\u00a01960 et 2012. We will focus on the last value, established in 2012 and try to picture it as a bar graph<\/strong> thanks to EasyCatalog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

B) Bar graphs<\/h3>\n

First of all, we draw a generic bar graph within Adobe Illustrator.<\/strong> Then we will call our bar within EasyCatalog<\/strong> and give it a dynamic width<\/strong> while using a specific field value, i.e. the 2012 percentage.<\/p>\n

\"diagramme_illustrator\"<\/a><\/p>\n

C) Custom field “b\u00e2ton”<\/h3>\n

Let’s create a\u00a0custom field within EasyCatalog <\/strong>called \u00a0“b\u00e2ton”<\/strong> : \"ajout<\/a><\/p>\n

\"param\u00e9trage<\/a><\/p>\n

After validation, we get as expected a “bat\u00f4n” field within our data. Problem is, any single line is empty.<\/strong> No reference to our bar graph file at all !<\/p>\n

\"champ<\/a><\/p>\n

How to get every line to reference our “”baton.ai” file ?\u00a0<\/strong>One could think about modifying its source data\u2026There is much better to do. We are going to use the cleansing options.<\/strong> As all our lines are empty, we are replacing this emptiness with\u00a0“baton.ai”<\/strong> with this very simple instruction :\u00a0“=baton.ai;”<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"cleansing<\/a><\/p>\n

Doing so, every cell is now filled with\u00a0“baton.ai”<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"cellules<\/a><\/p>\n

Now we have to tell EasyCatalog to consider this data as an image field.<\/strong> So the “baton.ai” is not just a string but a link towards a file on our computer.<\/p>\n

\"choix_dossier\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By setting the location of our file, EasyCatalog converts the field type. It’s now an “image” field.<\/strong> Besides, you can now preview the picture by hovering the column cells.<\/p>\n

\"Previsualisation<\/a><\/p>\n

An essential input is still missing.<\/strong> At this state, the file would be placed as it is with 100% scale. We need to adjust our bar graph size to represent the data.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

We will tell EasyCatalog to scale our bar graph based on the 2012 field value.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"reglage<\/a><\/p>\n

D) Use<\/h3>\n

All we have left to do is to prepare our layout<\/strong>. Let’s take a very simple table<\/strong> for our demo :<\/p>\n

\"tableau<\/a><\/p>\n

Let’s take a bunch of data and paginate it thanks to EasyCatalog.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"tableau<\/a><\/p>\n

Et voil\u00e0 ! Nice bar graphs<\/strong> in just a few clicks. Other layouts can be achieved<\/strong>, still easy\u2011peasy !<\/p>\n

\"diagrammes<\/a><\/p>\n

E) Conclusion<\/h3>\n

Create bar graphs with EasyCatalog is really possible.<\/strong> Even better, it’s easy ! This plugin is so smooth that everything seems feasible.<\/p>\n

Sky is the limit. Feel free to get in touch<\/a> with us if you have other projects, we will analyze their\u00a0feasibility together !<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EasyCatalog is terrific for injecting large sets of data quickly and precisely. However, is it possible to create bar graphs thanks to this plugin ? Yes it is, all you need is a bit of\u00a0ingenuity\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1482,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t