Importing tables

[WillemBierman]

I'm trying to get tables imported into QuarkXPress from another file format (f.e. ASCII files).

The intension is to generate a file from a certain database with information so it can be imported into QuarkXPress into a table. I haven't found any proper way of doing this. Could someone help me out here?

Thanks!

 

[HenryAnthony]

Just a thought... Maybe you could accomplish this by attaching Xpress Tags to your data within your database and then export a text file which you could import into Quark. I have done this with MS Access and Quark, though not in tables.

Best regards,

Henry

 

[Typesetter]

It depends on the source application -- there are different ways to handle this depending on where you're starting from:

word
word perfect
excel
spreadsheets
databases

In word or word perfect, you can attach style sheets before importing into quark (as long as you have the proper filters, and they are enabled).

For Excel, spreadsheets or databases, you can export as either tab-delimited or comma-delimited text files and then import them into Quark. You can actually also make style sheets work for you here as well. For instance, if your Quark file uses a style sheet you're calling TEXT, before exporting your text files type in @TEXT: to make the file obye your Quark style sheet formats. Bascially, just use the same style sheet name from Quark but put "@" before and ":" after. Sometimes it takes a little experimenting.

 

[Nomorework]

After much persuasion I managed to get my work to buy me Quark Express, but I think I have made a huge mistake. I have an enormous word document that is full of tables - about 200 of them. From what I've read so far, there seems to be no way to import them into Quark with all their lines and shadings and formattings etc.

Also the acrobat files that I also wanted to import seem to lose loads of their resolution when being imported into quark. Is there any way round either of these problems?

 

[HenryAnthony]

Long documents authored in Word are better published in Adobe FrameMaker rather than Quark. Frame can import entire Word documents including tables and has robust table formatting capabilities. Quark tables suck in my opinion. I have brought Word tables into Quark by printing to a PDF, opening the PDF in Illustrator, save as EPS and import as a picture. This is a rather round about workflow. I only do this with an occasional table or two in simple, short documents. Plus, making changes is time consuming. Doing this with 200 tables would not be efficient.

When you say PDFs lose resolution, do you mean screen or print resolution.

 

[Nomorework]

I mean on screen and in print.

Is adobe framemaker expensive?

Also do you know if quark is going to come out with any updates to make word tables import better?

 

[HenryAnthony]

To the best of my knowledge Quark has never displayed eps or pdf files very well on screen. Up to v5 anyway. PDFs print fine for me though I rarely use them in Quark. I try to use PDFs as a final step in a publishing process.

Frame is $799.

Both Quark and Frame have been rather stagnant as far as development for a long time. Back in the early 90's there was an Xtension that did tables in Quark. It sucked. Today's Quark tables is barely better than that old Xtension. I would not hold my breath for any great development coming out of Quark. InDesign might have better support for tables. I have not used it but I think it would be worth a look. Just go to adobe.com.