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Fix for tables???


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I am sorry to have to come on here like a broken record, but I have in the past mentioned numerous bugs/issues with tables in Publisher. I really like Publisher and want to use it to replace Indesign, but as tables are now, I still have to go back to indesign. My issues:

  • When I copy/paste from a table in excel (or similar app) and paste it in a table with the same dimensions in APub, an extra column and a row are added at the bottom and the right. I have tried workarounds, but have not found one that works
  • As in issue number one, when I copy/paste a column from excel into an existing table in Apub, a column gets added right next to it.
  • When I have a table set up in APub with different text styles for various cells (like bold, italic or colored text) I want this formatting to be respected when I paste new data into it. This is the case in Indesign, but in APub the formatting of the top left cell is taken for the entire table. It makes no sense to set up a table, when you have to redo it each time new data is added.
  • When I try to create a default table with various Paragraph styles, I can only set up one style for the entire table, not per cell or column. Why not?? I can not style the table on a per cell basis, which is incredibly limiting...
  • This may be by design, but I find it highly annoying: when I have a table set up in APub, but want to add a column in between two existing ones, the other columns are narrowed to keep the complete table the same width. I have no idea why this would makes sense, as I have to go back in and manually change the width values of the columns all over again. Perhaps there is a setting to either make the table responsive or static, but I find the current behavior very strange. If I add a column I want the other columns to be unaffected by this. Also, when I drag the table to the right, the specified with of the cells is not respected. Though this might make some sense in certain use cases, most of the time this is not what I want it to do.

I have been trying to work on a scientific publication with a lot of pages with the same tables, but each with different values. As it stands, this is almost impossible to do in APub. 

I have been following beta threads and releases, but there does not seem to be any work done on this issue. Am I the only on with this issue, or is it system-specific (I am still using El Capitan, though soon will switch to a new Mac)?

Can someone responsible for this at Serif, I would like you to get back at me, please!

 @Patrick Connor

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7 hours ago, postmadesign said:

When I try to create a default table with various Paragraph styles, I can only set up one style for the entire table, not per cell or column.

This is not entirely true. You can always go ahead and create a table format with different cell styles, including different text styles (character and paragraph styles). :)

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All the other points you made are valid, I think. Additionally, I would want to suggest that some care is taken for and table borders consisting of dashed lines. These are unusable at the moment, though I believe it is the same issue as with dashed lines in general. :)

Dashed-borders.png.1ceebd9ef92c49e3bf1647273cc7bbc8.png

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  • Staff
Quote
  • When I copy/paste from a table in excel (or similar app) and paste it in a table with the same dimensions in APub, an extra column and a row are added at the bottom and the right. I have tried workarounds, but have not found one that works
  • As in issue number one, when I copy/paste a column from excel into an existing table in Apub, a column gets added right next to it.

This is logged with us, I don't have any updates on this bug report for you unfortunately. It isn't system specific (as far as I've tested).

Quote

When I have a table set up in APub with different text styles for various cells (like bold, italic or colored text) I want this formatting to be respected when I paste new data into it. This is the case in Indesign, but in APub the formatting of the top left cell is taken for the entire table. It makes no sense to set up a table, when you have to redo it each time new data is added.

Is this data from Excel? Mine just copies the formatting used in Excel if it is from there, I would expect it to copy the formatting over if it is on the clipboard with the data.

Quote

This may be by design, but I find it highly annoying: when I have a table set up in APub, but want to add a column in between two existing ones, the other columns are narrowed to keep the complete table the same width

Edit: I've just double checked and this behavior is by design

Serif Europe Ltd. - www.serif.com

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1 hour ago, Jon P said:

Is this data from Excel? Mine just copies the formatting used in Excel if it is from there, I would expect it to copy the formatting over if it is on the clipboard with the data.

Jon, the problem is, I would think, that Paste without format simply doesn’t work in this situation. But I would highly recommend that it should, given the fact that the respective menu item isn’t greyed out. :)

1 hour ago, Jon P said:

this behavior is by design

Hmm … that’s unfortunate. I am currently not sitting at my computer, but I believe to remember that this automated scaling of the column width is taking place even when you manually set a width for a column. If I am not mistaken at this point, this behavior is highly undesirable. Please log a feature request then. :)

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20 hours ago, Jon P said:

this behavior is by design

@Jon P  Please have a look at the following video. I create a table and explicitly set a width for the cells of the first column. Then I add two new columns, with the effect that the width of the first column is reset each time. This is undesirable. As a rule, I would say: Whenever the user takes the trouble to explicitly set a numeric value, this value should be considered intentionally set. And any subsequent automated action of the app, such as resizing columns, should respect the intention of the user. :)

In short, please make the table width grow instead of simply redistributing the available space. In my opinion, the current behaviour doesn’t fit most real world situations. :(

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54 minutes ago, A_B_C said:

@Jon P  Please have a look at the following video. I create a table and explicitly set a width for the cells of the first column. Then I add two new columns, with the effect that the width of the first column is reset each time. This is undesirable. As a rule, I would say: Whenever the user takes the trouble to explicitly set a numeric value, this value should be considered intentionally set. And any subsequent automated action of the app, such as resizing columns, should respect the intention of the user. :)

In short, please make the table width grow instead of simply redistributing the available space. In my opinion, the current behaviour doesn’t fit most real world situations. :(

 

Table-Column-Width-Bad-Design.mov

I agree 100% on this!

21 hours ago, Jon P said:

Is this data from Excel? Mine just copies the formatting used in Excel if it is from there, I would expect it to copy the formatting over if it is on the clipboard with the data.

Yes, the data is from Excel, but I don't want the formatting from Excel, so I would paste without formatting, in which case all cells have the style of the top left style.

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  • Staff

I see your point, but this will need to go in as a feature request as I don't think it is currently a bug. There may also be real world situations where you would want to insert a new column in to a table without adjusting its size.

Quote

Yes, the data is from Excel, but I don't want the formatting from Excel, so I would paste without formatting, in which case all cells have the style of the top left style.

I'll log this, it does seem like a bug. It does a better job on Mac than Windows too oddly enough...

Serif Europe Ltd. - www.serif.com

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On 10/11/2019 at 12:57 PM, Jon P said:

I see your point, but this will need to go in as a feature request as I don't think it is currently a bug. There may also be real world situations where you would want to insert a new column in to a table without adjusting its size.

Jon, I fear I have to disagree. Nothing against dynamic column resizing, but when I explicitly define the width of a column using the Table Panel, I would expect that all the other columns resize, if any, but not the one I had explicitly defined the width of.

Therefore, please could you check back with the developers, if this is really intended. At the moment, I cannot think of any other place in the app, where an explicitly set value is simply ignored and automatically changed by a subsequent action. Hmm. :/

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 Therefore, please could you check back with the developers, if this is really intended.

I clarified with the developers before stating it was by design. I do understand your point here and I think it's a perfectly valid feature request (maybe a way to control how it inserts it would be ideal), but the way it currently functions is how it has been designed.

Serif Europe Ltd. - www.serif.com

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