RE: FrameMaker: Automating Table Creation?

["Combs, Richard" <richard -dot- combs -at- Polycom -dot- com>]

[I'm checking mail remotely, so forgive formatting weirdness; I have no control.]
Keith Hansen wrote:
 
> Here is my question: Any way I can automate the table creation process?
In other words, any way I can highlight the text, then somehow create a
table with the correct number of rows/columns AND the appropriate text
in each cell?
>

Spend some quality time with the FM manual or help. There's a menu command specifically for doing exactly what you want: Table > Convert to Table. But if you don't know about that, you probably need to learn more about tables in FM in general, especially if you need to do this many times. For instance, you should know how headings work, how table formats work, and how to save an instance set up as you want it, with the column widths you want and the correct paragraph formats appearing automatically in the heading and body rows. 
 
Contrary to someone else's comment, FM's capabilities regarding tables are quite powerful and feature-rich. You just have to learn how they work, which is different than in Word. Tables are objects in FM, not just collections of rows, and they should be created using named formats (think styles), just like paragraph and character formatting. 
 
It would be abysmally foolish to create tables in Word, WP, PM, ID, or anything else I can think of and import them into FM -- creating them in FM is far, far better. 
 
HTH! 
Richard




------ 
Richard G. Combs 
Senior Technical Writer 
Polycom, Inc. 
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom 
303-223-5111 
------ 
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom 
303-777-0436 
------ 


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