How to make Excel Tables in Quark 6.1

QuarkXPress Frequently asked questions

How to make Excel Tables in Quark 6.1?

Here's how to do it, along with some tips on how to work with Excel tables after you've got them in there:

  • Choose the Table tool (below the Picture Box tool) and drag out a rectangle with it, defining your table's initial width and height. As soon as you release the mouse, the Table Properties dialog pops up. Pay attention here, because you'll never be able to recall this dialog again for this particular table.
  • In Table Properties, ignore the fields for number of columns and rows, because importing the Excel workbook sheet will override your entries. Just click the checkbox next to "Link to External File."
  • In the resulting Table Link dialog, in Source, choose "Excel" for Type. Want to see what other types of files can be linked to a Table? Press and hold on the Type: drop-down menu.
  • Click the Browse button and navigate to the .xls file (the Excel worksheet) you want to import as a table. Select it and choose Open.
  • Now you're returned to the Table Link dialog, with the filename entered in the Source: Name field. Below that, two new areas are enabled: Table and Options.

    Some explanation and a couple tips:
    • In the Table area, you can choose a particular Sheet, if the Excel file has more than one; and you can specify a Cell Range, which is quite handy if you only need certain rows or columns, not the whole thing.
    • the Options area, you can choose to include or ignore hidden rows and columns, format, geometry, and style sheets.
    • A tip here is to turn OFF "Include Geometry." That way, Quark will shoehorn your Excel data to fit inside the initial boundaries of the Table you drew out back in Step 1. You can always resize the table and its rows and columns later to get everything to fit.
    • If you keep Include Geometry turned on (the default), and you have a large spreadsheet, Quark will likely as not churn for awhile, thinking about it, and then give you an alert, "Item cannot be positioned off the pasteboard." In that case you're returned to your document and you have to start over.
  • When you're done with the Table Link dialog, click OK. Your Excel data is imported as a table into the Table boundary you drew out in Step 1.


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