When you use catalog merge, you combine information from a data source with a catalog merge template to create a set of merged pages that display the records from your data source.
Data source
A data source is the file that contains the information that you want to use for a catalog merge. The data source file that you use can be a database, a spreadsheet, an Address List, or a Microsoft Word table.
Catalog merge template
The catalog merge template is a one-page publication in which you design the layout for your merged publication pages. The catalog merge template contains a rectangular region called the catalog merge area in which you insert merge fields as placeholders for the information in the data source. When you complete the merge, the information from the data source populates these merge fields, and the catalog merge area will repeat one or more times per page until all of the records from your data source are displayed. You can save your catalog merge template and reuse it whenever you need to create an updated version of your merged publication.
Completing the merge
When you complete the merge, Publisher creates a set of merged pages displaying all of the records in your data source according to the layout that you designed in your catalog merge template. You can save these pages as a new publication or add these pages to the end of an existing publication, such as a catalog cover that you have already designed.
