If you cannot see DesignMerge variable links or other DesignMerge information that you expected to see in a document, please check the following: 

1. Is required software installed? 
   Either the DesignMerge software or the DesignMerge Tag Display software must be installed to see DesignMerge variable links. The DesignMerge Tag Display software is free to any who do not have DesignMerge installed but would like to be able to see the DesignMerge variable links that are in a document. For more details about the DesignMerge Tag Display software, see the "How do I install the free DesignMerge Tag Display software?" Knowledgebase Article.
2. Which InDesign View and Screen Modes are you using? 
   Select an InDesign View and Screen Mode that will display non-printing content. For example, open the InDesign View menu and confirm the view is not set to Overprint Preview and also confirm the Screen Mode is set to Normal. 
3. Cannot see icons for variable frames? 
   To show DesignMerge visual indicators for frames that have been tagged with DesignMerge information (for example, variable picture links, variable text frame links, frame rule assignments, 2D bar codes), open the InDesign View menu to confirm you have set InDesign to Show Frame Edges.
4. Confirm document has not been converted to an older version. 
   DesignMerge information in an InDesign document (a .INDD file) is always retained when the document is opened in a newer version of InDesign. However, DesignMerge information may be automatically removed if you choose to open the document in an older version of the InDesign application. Additionally, saving a document in the InDesign Markup Language (IDML) format will automatically remove DesignMerge information that was in the document. This can be avoided by using the DesignMerge Tag Converter Utility before you open the .INDD document in an older version of InDesign or before you save the document in the IDML format. For more information about this DesignMerge utility, see the "How to preserve variable text links when converting a document to an older version (About DesignMerge Tag Converter)" Knowledgebase Article.