Exporting information from a MongoDB database into Adobe InDesign.

[Keen-Learner]

I am a complete newbie to MongoDB and am using "MongoDB shell version: 3.2.1" with Windows 10 (64-bit) as my OS.

I wish to set up a MongoDB database with a great many "documents" to hold all the "raw material" (initial versions of text, photos, PDFs, and possibly audio- and video-clips) prior to their inclusion in an autobiography.

I have chosen MongoDB as my NoSQL database in preference to a MySQL or MariaDB database due to my inability to *pre-ascertain* the correct schema, as I have no idea as to which table fields will be required.

I wish to work on the *final* versions of the text (once queried out of the MongoDB database in "chapter order") first in MS Word and then transfer them for the final pre-publication formatting of the book (with photos and PDFs) in Adobe InDesign.

Is a MongoDB database suitable for holding and sorting all the "raw material" and, if so, how would I export the responses to all my queries of the MongoDB database ***in a format that would enable me to keep working on the text.in first MS Word and then Adobe InDesign***.

I have come across the "mongoexport" utility but this seems to only export in CSV or JSON format, neither of which seem to lend themselves to working with text.

Many thanks in advance for as detailed responses as possible.

[Wan Bachtiar]

I am a complete newbie to MongoDB…I wish to set up a MongoDB database with a great many “documents” to hold all the “raw material” (initial versions of text, photos, PDFs, and possibly audio- and video-clips) prior to their inclusion in an autobiography.

Hi,

MongoDB is a document-oriented database. A basic unit of data in MongoDB is composed of field(s) and value(s), called a document. Documents are analogous to JSON objects. A MongoDB document is not to be confused with a text file document, PDF document or MS Word document. See Introduction to MongoDB for more information.

The data model of MongoDB document depends on your use case and software ecosystems. For examples, you may choose to design a schema such below:

{
    _id: ObjectId(...), 
    title: "Chapter 1: Title", 
    version: 9, 
    body: "text contents",
    photos: ['/path/to/photoA.jpg', '/path/to/photoB.jpg'],   
    ...
}

or, you may choose:

{
    _id: ObjectId(...), 
    title: "Chapter 1: Title", 
    version: 9, 
    msword: '/path/to/file/ms_word.doc',
    indesign: '/path/to/file/indesign.indd',
    rtf: '/path/to/file/document.rtf'
    ...
}

These design decisions should be made by you as the domain expert according to your requirements, use case, and resources.

Is a MongoDB database suitable for holding and sorting all the “raw material” and, if so, how would I export the responses to all my queries of the MongoDB database in a format that would enable me to keep working on the text.in first MS Word and then Adobe InDesign.

MongoDB, like most databases, doesn’t come pre-packaged with an exporter or converter from MS Word to Adobe In Design. This is a workflow design decision that you would have to make. Either you utilise a common format between InDesign supported formats and MS Word supported formats, or utilise a conversion process between formats.

If you have further questions regarding integrations between Adobe InDesign and MS Word, I would recommend to post a question in Adobe InDesign Forum or MS Word Forum.

If you are interested to learn more about MongoDB, I would recommend to enrol in a free online course at MongoDB University

Regards,

Wan.

​

[Keen-Learner]

Thank you very much indeed for such a very helpful reply. I really appreciate the effort you put into replying.

I will trial your suggestions and will see what the other forums say.

My thanks again.

C.