Tables in WD9 (Premium)

[yjs]

Whenever there's a new version of WD, the first thing I check out is whether there's support for tables...This for many non-techie clients who simply want to present and update data in a tabular form (e.g. a list of upcoming conferences with dates and locations, a list of publications with authors and download link and so on). The new table widget is not flexible enough - but am I correct that a grid/table structure could be made using the new push features? For example, the products page on the Telesales Template looks as though extra rows and colums could be added - as well as column dividers... and these could be resized automatically according to the content? If so, what would be the simplest way to set this up?
Thanks,
Yaffa

[Acorn]

Have a look at my recent answer here: http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthre...ver-make-sense!.

What you need to do is design your row with graphics, fonts vertical bars, text boxes and group them together then Position on Page > Push ticked.
With snap to object, grid or guides, positioning should be simple. Moving each group up or down repositions the others.

Acorn

[yjs]

Have a look at my recent answer here: http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthre...ver-make-sense!.

What you need to do is design your row with graphics, fonts vertical bars, text boxes and group them together then Position on Page > Push ticked.
With snap to object, grid or guides, positioning should be simple. Moving each group up or down repositions the others.

Acorn

Thanks, this sounds logical for the setup and I'll b trying it. But I also need to be able to give simple instructions for non-technie users e.g. 'Enter your conference details in the grid. If you want to add a row, do XXXX. If you want to delete a row, do XXXX.'

Very simple for them to to do this in most web design programmes, plus CMSs and Google sites etc. So I'm wondering if this now can be done easily in Xara.

Yaffa

[gwpriester]

You can also set up a table using Tabs.

This is an old Guest Tutorial but the idea still works http://www.xaraxone.com/guest/guest82/

[yjs]

You can also set up a table using Tabs.

This is an old Guest Tutorial but the idea still works http://www.xaraxone.com/guest/guest82/

Thanks but unfortunately, while this indeed works, it is way too complicated to give to my clients.

It is very frustrating. They can open Xara, select a template, move items around, edit the buttons and really feel in control of everything. Then they say: How do I 'just' insert a table with the dates of my conferences?' And I have to tell them there's no easy way. So they end up using a different product which is really overkill for what they need.

Well I'll try to set them up a grid using the new 'push' features.
Yaffa

[bb2]

There is a table widget available Designs gallery > Page elements & widgets > Other widgets. It allows you to enter CSV data in the Widget editor, causing a simple table to display with sortable data and pagination.

Its not suitable for all table cases but might help you. Note: Its possible that we'll create additional table styles and types as widgets.

[yjs]

There is a table widget available Designs gallery > Page elements & widgets > Other widgets. It allows you to enter CSV data in the Widget editor, causing a simple table to display with sortable data and pagination.

Its not suitable for all table cases but might help you. Note: Its possible that we'll create additional table styles and types as widgets.

Thanks - I saw this gadget and it's ok as far as it goes, but too complex for the non-techie user who just wants to put some elements in a grid/tabular format and adjust them easily. WD is exactly what these people are looking for regarding the graphical elements of their site. They don't need a full-blown CMS or even Google Sites. But the aim of their sites is NOT to display pictures but to convey information in a user-friendly way. So they do need more control over the way their text elements are laid out on the page.

Re the table widget gadget, is there any way to have a URL display as a link?
Thanks
Yaffa

[PeteS]

How about this method Xhris shows http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTkggsBp_5Q
Very simple and well explained. Takes a couple of minutes to reproduce it yourself

[bb2]

you can have a url display as a link but im afraid its slightly technical again to achieve this.

IN the example csv data below, the word John has been linked to http://www.xara.com and the word John is also linked to this address but its target is set to _blank causing the linked page to be retrieved within a new window.




Categories, Apples, Pears, Oranges, Bananas
<a href=http://www.xara.com>John</a>, 8, 4, 6, 5
<a href=http://www.xara.com target=_blank>John</a>, 5, 7, 9, 8
Joe, 8, 6, 7, 7
Janet, 3, 6, 3, 10
James,5,7,12,8
Joanne,4,9,4,7

[yjs]

How about this method Xhris shows http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTkggsBp_5Q
Very simple and well explained. Takes a couple of minutes to reproduce it yourself

Indeed it's nice and I can probably reproduce it in a couple of minutes - but I could not recommend this up to the non-techie user, who has just a few lines of text to display in tablular format and may need to alter it (including removing intermediate rows).

I'm not criticising the technical capabilities of Xara, just saying that there is a huge difference in usability for its graphics and text features when it comes to displaying text in a structured way. Will experiment with the new push feature over the weekend, as that seems to have the best potential..

Ideally I'd like to see in the designs gallery a set of grid templates which you could drag over to a page (like text panels) with simple instructions to add and remove rows.
Yaffa