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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
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    Pittsburgh, PA area
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    7

    Default Link text fields in Designer 10 with cells in Excel or Word (table)?

    Good Day Everyone,

    I have been using Xara graphics since I got a copy of CorelXara back in '95. Have been doing a lot of personal things like binder covers, family announcements, etc. with it over the years and really enjoy the process.

    This is a new area for me so please excuse me if I am not quite phrasing it correctly. My new boss recently asked if using my Xara Photo & Designer 10, if it was possible to build a background layer showing something like a parking lot layout. Then developing an overlay that would pull text data from an Excel file or Word document table to populate text data over the background?

    An example I came up with was a parking lot showing the parking spaces with rows 1 through 10. Rows 1 - 4 have 25 spaces, 5 - 8 have 33 spaces and 9 & 10 have 30 spaces. So I draw the background spaces as Layer 1. In Layer 2 I would want to link each parking space to a cell in an external document. The need for the external document is that the text for each space may change from week to week but we would like t print out the most recent configuration. If these can be linked it would save a lot of time trying to do this manually in just the various layers.

    Thank you for any help in this matter.


    Mark M.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2000
    Location
    Bracknell, UK
    Posts
    8,659

    Default Re: Link text fields in Designer 10 with cells in Excel or Word (table)?

    I don't think this is at all possible.

  3. #3

    Default Re: Link text fields in Designer 10 with cells in Excel or Word (table)?

    yeah, i don't think it's directly possible either but i have done something similar for intercom system directories. it did take a little while (more than i'd like to admit) to get the spacing for the excel text fields to line up with the xara image i made. after updating names in excel i export it as a pdf. then i import it into my image in xara. sometimes it groups a couple of the fields oddly but it always fits in the name and dial code slots perfectly. never cared why it groups some cells because it still works as needed. if there would be a need to adjust the text within the image after importing it, it's easy enough to cut the grouping apart into individual text.

    may not be the best way but after getting it set up it works quickly. although...i'd like to hear if there's a cleaner way of doing this too for future reference

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2000
    Location
    Harwich, Essex, England
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    22,090

    Default Re: Link text fields in Designer 10 with cells in Excel or Word (table)?

    Is this the type of thing you're after:
    Attached Files Attached Files
    Egg

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  5. #5

    Default Re: Link text fields in Designer 10 with cells in Excel or Word (table)?

    nice Egg

    and 5 minutes of formatting (cell height 20, width 6) an excel table was easily made for the names that is then exported as a pdf (using "selected fields only" option) and then imported into xara
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

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  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2000
    Location
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    Posts
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    Default Re: Link text fields in Designer 10 with cells in Excel or Word (table)?

    Ingenious, but not at all what the OP originally wanted.

  7. #7

    Default Re: Link text fields in Designer 10 with cells in Excel or Word (table)?

    Quote Originally Posted by pauland View Post
    Ingenious, but not at all what the OP originally wanted.
    never said it was (i did agree with you a few posts up)
    this is just a two step workaround that allows you to get the same results showing that at least it is possible. i'd rather have some way of doing something than no way at all

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2000
    Location
    Bracknell, UK
    Posts
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    Default Re: Link text fields in Designer 10 with cells in Excel or Word (table)?

    I'd rather have some way of doing something than no way at all

    Absolutely. Just as well the parking lot is rectangular!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2000
    Location
    Bracknell, UK
    Posts
    8,659

    Default Re: Link text fields in Designer 10 with cells in Excel or Word (table)?

    I'd question the value of an updateable parking space diagram. Who would use it?

    I'd be more inclined to find on a list that my space was No. 84, rather than search a diagram to try and find where my name was. Finding space 84 is easier than finding a name.

    So, perhaps a diagram with the numeric spaces and a table with the allocation?

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2000
    Location
    Harwich, Essex, England
    Posts
    22,090

    Default Re: Link text fields in Designer 10 with cells in Excel or Word (table)?

    Ingenious, but not at all what the OP originally wanted.
    An example I came up with was a parking lot showing the parking spaces with rows 1 through 10. Rows 1 - 4 have 25 spaces, 5 - 8 have 33 spaces and 9 & 10 have 30 spaces. So I draw the background spaces as Layer 1. In Layer 2 I would want to link each parking space to a cell in an external document. The need for the external document is that the text for each space may change from week to week but we would like t print out the most recent configuration. If these can be linked it would save a lot of time trying to do this manually in just the various layers.
    It does exactly as it says on the tin Paul

    The data is kept on a Google Drive spread sheet, up-datable every five minutes and printable.
    Egg

    Minis Forum UM780XTX AMD Ryzen7 7840HS with AMD Radeon 780M Graphics + 32 GB Ram + MSI Optix Mag321 Curv monitor
    + 1Tb SSD + 232 GB SSD + 250 GB SSD portable drive + ISP = BT + Web Hosting = TSO Host

 

 

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