This is one of the tutorials I followed trying with my own excel workbook rather than the example workbook they offer for download, and it crashed every time I tried. However, I did just try with their example workbook and indd file and it worked...so I am wondering if it is an issue with my excel file or indd...
For anyone who has experience with placing linked excel tables, what are the restrictions on complex formulas, formatting, linked data, formatting, etc. in the excel tables one is trying to place and link to an indd document? Are there restrictions on page set up in the indd file? Can anyone point me to resources that go into more detail about some of these restrictions? Anything I've found online is more basic descriptions/tutorials similar to the one Eugene linked above. Nothing that I've seen really goes into too much detail about restrictions and potential issues.
My excel file isn't terribly complex, really just some linking between tabs in the spreadsheet, with most complex formulas being using the IF and INDEX or VLOOKUP functions in excel. The tables I am trying link are saved on tabs for 1 of 10 segments along a roadway corridor. There are 4-5 tables on each tab. Before trying to place anything in indd, in excel, I select the cell range for one table and define the name so it appears in the dropdown. In an attempt to troubleshoot, I also tried playing with formatting of the excel tables making sure there were no odd fonts, wrapped text, text was set to text, numbers to numbers. Still crashes.
I will also add that I saw these steps recommended so I already have treid these too - trashed my preferences both upon opening InDesign, and deleting in folders. I have also tried uninstalling and reinstalling InDesign.
I attached a screen shot of an example some of the tables for one segment, as well as my setting during placement attempt, file handling settings and where I am trying to place the first table. As you can see the excel tables are not terribly complex and still missing some information, because the analysis results are still in development. I could just create images of these tables (I also have a series of charts as well that need to be inserted), but with 10 segments, multiple charts and tables for each segment, and results that will be frequently updated, it would be great to have these linked so I can update them automatically.
I really want to utilize the power of InDesign on this project, but it's been proving to be a pain. Any tips are greatly appreciated.
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