Quark 5 (PC) tables???

Cowtoon · 03-18-2004, 09:39 PM

Ok ... this isn't a rush. It's a project that will be coming down the tubes eventually.

I will be working on a large file (somewhere between 100-200 pages). There will be a significant number of tables ... some will be pages long. What's the best way to handle this in Quark. I've heard some nasty things aboutthis in Quark. Is there an option to create the table elsewhere and then import it. I realize it's more suited to a wordprocessing feature, but these table will contain a lot of technical information. Any thoughts, suggestions?

LTG · 03-19-2004, 07:23 PM

I wish I had more experience with tables in Quark - what little I know will be of no help to you, sorry. But I have books

I'll see if there's anything in them that will help and get back to you, since there's no rush - and hopefully someone who has experience with Quark tables will also respond. That would be better, I'm sure.

If it wasn't for the last minute nothing would ever get done.
(When I grow up I want to be just like Keyare! He does excellent work - even when he's trying to not to.)

Cowtoon · 03-19-2004, 09:46 PM

Thanks LTG.
That's why I posted it now. I know that tables are not fun in Quark, but then ... I'm anything but a seasoned Quark user. I'm happy to be wrong, if you get my jist! I used Quark for about a month ... back in November and haven't really used it since, but I'll be working on a big document and want to know how to do this by the time this project comes down the tubes. When I had a 4-hour training session (back then) the trainer didn't put on a happy face when I asked about tables, so I'm not entirely hopeful. He suggested linking a gazillion text boxes to emulate tables - not an attractive alternative. Maybe some Quark guru will have an amazing method for creating a table in Quark. Wouldn't that be nice.

I'll keep checking, in case you find something in one of your reference books, or someone else has a method that works.

LTG · 03-19-2004, 10:31 PM

Well, the first thing I saw when I opened one of the books is that InDesign can import tables from MS Word or spreadsheets from MS Excel (with some reformating needed) but Quark can't. Not sure how much that helps but sometimes it good to know what you can't do so you don't waste your time trying.

If it wasn't for the last minute nothing would ever get done.
(When I grow up I want to be just like Keyare! He does excellent work - even when he's trying to not to.)

D-Zine · 03-22-2004, 11:30 AM

I'm not sure what the big deal about tables in Quark is...I mean why everyone hates them. Well...I hate tables period! LOL!!It doesn't matter what program to me...LOL! But I have done tables in Quark many timesand never had any bad experiences (other than that they are annoying no matter what! hehe) Cowtoon...before Quark really had the table feature I had a freelance job for this huge book called "The Book of Lists (basically a book of business listings)..and the pages were like 11x17 and it was nothing but table, after table, formatting, all that junk..and I did it by linking the text boxes as your instructor suggested but I wouldn't recommend that. It was a total pain!!!

When you get the job rollin post any questions you have and we will try and help you

) But so far with the tables I haven't had any problems.

Who says doodling isn't constructive?!

Cowtoon · 03-23-2004, 12:06 AM

Unfortunately D-zine, there's no getting around this. It will have to be in tables as the information (3 columns) has text that needs to wrap within each of the cells otherwise, I'd simply tab it.

The first question that comes to my mind ... if text boxes are linked, what happens when you 'later' add a lot of text to one of those text cells/links. Do the cells expand to accommodate extra text, or will this have a cascading effect ... where they all spill into the next linked cell, causing havoc with all text cells that follow. The thought scares me!!!!

D-Zine · 03-23-2004, 10:55 AM

Ohh ewee...LOL! I wasn't suggesting tabbing all of the info.....actually I had to do that in the past when I was speaking above about that one book and I stated that that was a TOTAL pain! I do not suggest that at all!

Each cell is a seperate text box. If you type into one and fill it up you either have to adjust your table size or your point size for your font, but it doesn't spill over into the next text cell if you add something. They aren't linked and each one is a seperate cell so I don't think the flow of the copy will be a problem for you.

If you go the route with linking all those text boxes (instead of using tables)then you can and probobly will run into that flow issue. I would go with the tables if I were you...to avoid the flowing issue.

Who says doodling isn't constructive?!

Cowtoon · 03-24-2004, 01:10 AM

Ok ... so ... let me see if I understand what you are saying: create a bunch of text boxes aligned in three columns (of course, because that's what I want) and in rows (of course, again) and treat them all as if they were forming a table. And - I won't link them - to prevent spill-overs (that's the part I was missing).

Is that the jist of it?

D-Zine · 03-24-2004, 03:00 AM

Oh no! I was saying DON'T do the millions of text boxes! DO THE TABLES! All those text boxes will be nighmarish I promise you! LOL!

Who says doodling isn't constructive?!

Cowtoon · 03-24-2004, 03:34 AM

Ok ... so why can't I find where I select a table for insertion or creation or whatever? (Quark 5)