on 4 September 2009
A common layout requirement is to create a table based on an imported Excel spreadsheet but styled to match the rest of a publication. This is a fiddly job at the best of times, although it’s aided by the relatively powerful table-handling tools in recent versions of both QuarkXPress and InDesign.
What’s especially annoying, however, is to get a table finished only to find the supplied data has changed, and you have to spend time copying and pasting new values and restyling where necessary. This can be avoided by maintaining a link between the original Excel file and your Quark or InDesign document. When the content is changed in Excel, you can update the finished table in one click.
Like everything to do with tables, linking isn’t quite as straightforward as it might be. Follow this guide, covering both applications, to get it right first time.
Read the full article in MacUser Vol 25 No 18, on sale now.
adambanksdotcom He must be older than me. Still, good #IanTomlinson story (in the Mail! Really!) by Stephen Glover