Importing Excel tables

Table data often originates in a spreadsheet program such as Excel, and you can import table data just as you import pictures. Although the technique is slightly different, the results are the same: The table in QuarkXPress is linked to the Excel file for tracking and updating.

If you import a table from Excel using the Link to External Table feature in the Table Properties dialog box, table usage will be tracked just as picture usage is tracked. This ensures that you’re notified if the source table changes, and that you have the latest table data when you output the layout, whether you print, collect for output, save as a PDF, or export to HTML. To check the status of a table, choose Utilities > Usage, and then click the Tables tab.

Although you can update tables just as you can update pictures, you’ll need to keep the following points in mind:

  • If you check Include Formats in the Table Link dialog box when you first import an Excel table, the table’s Excel formatting is preserved (as much as possible) in QuarkXPress. If you later update the table, any local formatting you have applied in QuarkXPress is removed and replaced with the formatting from the Excel file.
  • If you do not check Include Formats in the Table Link dialog box when you first import an Excel table, the table’s Excel formatting is discarded. If you later update the table, QuarkXPress attempts to preserve any local formatting you have applied to the table in QuarkXPress.

To import an Excel table and maintain the link in QuarkXPress:

  1. Using the Tables tool, drag to draw a table of approximately the dimensions you need. The Table Properties dialog box displays when you release the mouse button.
  2. Check Link to External Data.
  3. Click OK to display the Table Link dialog box.
    QuarkXpress db table link Importing Excel tables

    The Table Link dialog box

  4. Click Browse to locate and select an Excel file to import.
  5. If the file includes multiple worksheets, choose the one you want to import from the Sheet drop-down menu. If you want to import only a portion of the data, you can specify a cell range in the Range field or choose a named range from the drop-down menu.
  6. In the Options area, check the attributes you want to import.
  7. Click OK.
Note: Formulas and references are not imported. Instead, the final values that result from formulas and references are imported.Inserted pictures are not imported. Text with Auto Filter or Advance Filter (Data > Filter) applied is imported as static text.
Note: A quicker way to create a table from Excel data — without linking the source table to the QuarkXPress project for updates — is to copy and paste. To do this, select any portion of data in an Excel worksheet and copy the selected data. Then simply switch to QuarkXPress and choose Edit > Paste. QuarkXPress creates a table appropriate to the data and inserts the text.
Parent topic: Working with tables

Importing Excel tables