On occasion, you may need a Link or a Rule to process at a specific point in the overall merge process. This document explains the overall processing order for Pages, Frames, Links and Rules for all DesignMerge merge operations.

BASIC PROCESS ORDER SUMMARY

1. Each page is processed separately, one page at a time.
2. Frames are processed starting with the frontmost frame on a page and proceeding to the rearmost frame.
3. Links within a frame are processed starting with the first link in the story and proceeding to the end of the story.
4. If you want a frame to process first (before anything else has been merged), put it on the first page and make it the frontmost frame on the page.
5. If you want a frame to process last (after all other items have been merged), put it on the last page and make it the rearmost frame on the page.

The remainder of this document provides more detail on the process order utilized by DesignMerge software.

PAGE AND FRAME PROCESS ORDERING

The pages and frames of an InDesign document are processed in a specific order by DesignMerge software, as described below.

1. Pages
   Each page of the InDesign document is processed one at a time, and in sequential order starting with the first page of the document and continuing for all subsequent pages. For each page, the merge follows the process ordering for Links and Rules described below.
2. Frames
   For each page, all frames on the page are processed in Z-order, starting with the Frontmost frame (Object > Arrange > Bring to Front) on the page, and proceeding rearward until the Rearmost frame (Object > Arrange > Send to Back) on the page has been processed.
   

   Pasteboard Frames: All pasteboard frames are ignored during processing, however, sometimes it is convenient to place a frame on the pasteboard area that may contain variable data. This can be helpful if, for example, you wish to review certain data values as they merge, but you do not want them to appear on the live document area. One workaround for this is to ensure that at least one edge of the frame is touching the live area of the page. If any portion of a frame is touching the live page area, that frame will be processed in the normal fashion. The remainder of the frame (including content) can then be extended onto the pasteboard area where it will be processed.

VARIABLE LINK PROCESS ORDERING

DesignMerge supports two different Variable Link tag types. These Links are processed in a specific order, as described below:

1. Frame Links (a/k/a Frame Tags)
   A Frame Link is a Variable Link that has been assigned to an entire frame. The frame can be either a text frame, or a picture frame. When data is merged into a Frame Link, the entire content of the frame will be completely replaced with the data being merged. In the case of a text frame, all existing text will be replaced by the incoming variable data text, and in the case of picture frames, the existing picture (if any) will first be cleared and then replaced by the incoming variable picture data.
2. Text Links (a/k/a Text Tags)
   A Text Link is a Variable Link that has been assigned to some range of text within a text frame story, table cell, or any place where text can be selected. Text Links are processed when the frame containing the Links is processed. The Text Links are processed in the same order in which they appear in the story, starting with the first Link encountered in the story, and proceeding forward in the story until all links have been processed and the end of the story has been reached. For linked frames, note that only the very first frame in the chain will be processed since that frame contains the main story.

   Linked Frames: For text frames that are linked together, please note that only the very first frame in the chain will be processed since that frame contains the main story and all Text Links to be processed.

RULE PROCESS ORDERING

DesignMerge supports three different Rule types. These Rules trigger in a specific order, as described below:

1. Page Rules
   Page Rules are always processed first, and serve to establish the base document layout elements to be processed on the assigned page. For example, a Page Rule may be used to apply a specific Parent Page (that may contain an alternative layout), or to hide or show Layers in the document.
   

   Page Rules are processed for ALL pages before any merge processing begins. Please note that only visible Layers will be processed for variable data.

2. Frame Rules
   Frame Rules trigger next in the course of frame processing (according to the Frame Process Ordering described above). As each frame is processed, it is first examined for Frame Rules. If any Frame Rules have been applied to the frame they are processed. If the frame is still valid following execution of the Frame Rule, it will then be examined for Variable Links and processed accordingly.

   Note that Frame Rules can be also be applied to frames that are not intended to receive variable data. For example, you may assign a Frame Rule to delete a frame based on defined criteria so it will be removed from the layout, or to change the color or other attributes of the frame. Also note that a frame can have both a Frame Rule as well as a Frame Link/Rule assigned at the same time, but the Frame Rule will always trigger first.

3. Link Rules
   Finally Link Rules are processed during the merge process for the frame. Link Rules are always associated with a Variable Link, which means that some data is going to be merged and processed. Link Rules can be used to modify or style the data that is being merged into the document.