Publisher - Advanced table formating?

[big smile]

Is there anyway I can reproduce the follwing using a table in Affinity Publisher? 

E.g. So one tbale cell would be blanck, the next table cell would contain just " fi", the next table cell would be blank, the next table cell would contain "you" and so on. 

 

I know I can do it by drawing boxes but for my purposes, a table would be more handy as I am working with multiple lines of text (more than what is shown). 

I can emulate the gaps between the cells by  inserting empty columns/rows and turning of the strokes for them. However, I was wondering if there was a smarter way than having empty columns/rows (as having empty columns/rows adds clutter). 

Also, I am note sure how to do rounded corners for the cells (although, I am happy to drop that part if it is impossible). 

Thanks!

[GaryLearnTech]

Hi @big smile This comes fairly close:

I've attached the file for you to inspect:  table control.afpub

Summary: this is a straightforward 4x5 table.  Or is it 5x4?  Table formatting is turned off.  Vertical alignment is set to Centre Vertically.

The cell formatting comes from two paragraph styles, so type your text and apply the "Table TEXT BUTTON" style for the appropriate cells.  The key section here is in the Decorations section.  The "Table BLANK BUTTON" style is just a derivative of the Text style and is, obviously, used for the remaining blank cells.

I'm sure this could be refined a bit, but it should give you a possible way forward that's easy to use once the two styles are set up.

[lacerto]

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[big smile]

@GaryLearnTech @Lagarto Thanks for all the help! Some really clever ideas here. You guys rock! Thanks again!