Merging Excel Files? - Engraving Etc. Forum

From:	Melissa (OAKBROOK)	28 Aug 2006
To:	ALL	1 of 6

4712.1
Corel Draw and Excell files: What's the fastest way to get this into the laser for raster & vector cut? Our client needs 1200 seat donor ID plates. They will each have one, two or three lines on each. She sent them in an excell file, each line in its own column. How to merge them into a file that will engrave? Job can't be split into all three-liners/all one-liners because it needs to be delivered in the order of the seats---orchestra first.....balcony last..... Melissa Oakbrook Awards Westlake Village, CA
EDITED: 28 Aug 2006 by DGL

From:	Stunt Engraver (DGL)	28 Aug 2006
To:	Melissa (OAKBROOK)	2 of 6

4712.2 In reply to 4712.1
Melissa, Have you looked at Roy Brewer's "Print Merge" Flash tutorial? There's a link at the top of our start page that will take there. David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri DGL Engraving Port Hueneme, CA

From:	logojohn	28 Aug 2006
To:	Melissa (OAKBROOK)	3 of 6

4712.3 In reply to 4712.1
Do you have a way to open excel files? If not, download open office, that will do it. There are several macros that generous members have developed for manipulating the text(replace tabs puts the excel tabbed files on separate lines), duplicating multiple items on a plate(copy xy) and copying and pasting text directly in a coreldraw file(copy paste) before going to the printer. There is also one to remove unwanted characters or spaces at the beginning of each line if the find and replace option won't do it. Check them out in the macros folder. I was beginning to think I was the only one that had that type of tedious but lucarative jobs to do without spending all day on it. .

From:	Melissa (OAKBROOK)	28 Aug 2006
To:	logojohn	4 of 6

4712.4 In reply to 4712.3

All day? We estimate it might take 2 months to get through this. Which is fine with the client, they expect it will take quite awhile to install them all on each correct seat.

I will check the macros, Thank you so much!
:D

Melissa
Oakbrook Awards
Westlake Village, CA

From:	Shaddy	28 Aug 2006
To:	Melissa (OAKBROOK)	5 of 6

4712.5 In reply to 4712.1

Can you explain what the text lines will be?
First, liddle, last names? Title?
Do you need to have a serial number as well as the 3 text boxes?
Will the layout matter, as in, if there is only 1 text line, will it be in the same position as if there were 3? Or will the ones with 1 line need to be centered better?

What version of Corel are you using?

I might be able to help with a macro. I have one that can import up to 4 columns from Excel, but the layout might be a problem as mine expects the layout to already be in place and consistant.

Might not be too hard to customize into one centered text box though, just depends on your answers.

EDIT: PS, maybe a screen print of what a plate with one line and a plate with three look like. Make one up by hand in Corel then position them so you can see them all, then pres ALT-Prt Scrn (or ALT-Print Screen) on the keyboard. Then go to a graphics program and paste. Then crop and save and post.

Shaddy

EDITED: 28 Aug 2006 by SHADDY

From:	Pedaler (ROYBREWER)	29 Aug 2006
To:	Melissa (OAKBROOK)	6 of 6

4712.6 In reply to 4712.1
Melissa, The skinny answer is save as a TAB delimited file and open that file in Corel's Print Merge Utility. Our only concern is your quote: Job can't be split into all three-liners/all one-liners Depending on what you mean by that, often putting your variable into Paragraph text instead of Artistic text, will be an extremely simple solution. Roy Brewer http://www.engravingconcepts.com Epilog/Xenetech distributor