One of the most time-consuming and repetitive tasks for any page designer or copy editor is formatting complex items such as charts and sports agate. These mundane tasks have been eliminated, though, thanks to WoodWing’s Smart Styles, an award-winning plug-in that allows you to format even the most complicated items with a single click.

But did you know that Smart Styles CS3 also allows you to easily work on the contents of tables in InDesign and InCopy? It’s a feature you won’t find anywhere else, and here are two examples of how it works.

Tutorial 1 - Sorting a Table in InDesign

In this example, we have a table showing the types of butterflies found in the United States (figure 1). As you can see, the table contains three columns: State, State butterfly, and Binomial nomenclature.

Figure 1 - Zoom in

Currently, the table is sorted by State, but what if the table needs to be sorted by type of butterfly or nomenclature? With Smart Styles CS3, it’s a snap.

You may already have the data in a spreadsheet and it would be possible to sort the table in an external application and to import the data into InDesign, but what if you have 10, 20, 50 or even more tables to change?

This is where the new sorting feature of Smart Styles CS3 comes in.

Using the new Sort command found in the Table menu (figure 2), we can set sorting rules for up to three columns at a time by selecting the column name, the type of data it contains (text or number) and the order in which it needs to be sorted. Just a couple clicks, and it’s done. 

Figure 2 - Zoom in

We can also specify to sort the whole table, the selected column, or only a selected range of cells. Smart Styles automatically picks up the language used in the table, but you can sort the table using the sorting methods of a particular language by selecting it from the list. Last but not least is the option to include case sensitivity in the sorting method.

In figure 2, we have set the sorting options to sort the whole table; the column “State Butterfly” is sorted first, followed by the column “Binomial nomenclature” (both in ascending order).

By simply clicking OK, the table is sorted quickly and accurately! (figure 3)

Figure 3 - Zoom in

Tutorial 2 - Performing a Calculation Inside a Table in InCopy

In this example, we have a basic table that we want to use in an invoice (figure 1). The table lists three different products, with various columns containing product information. The last column lists the price of the product, and it is this column that we want to work with.

Figure 1 - Zoom in

 Without leaving InCopy, we want to quickly come up with a total price for all three products. For this purpose, have created a new cell into which we want to place this value.

Using Smart Styles CS3, this task is completed easily and effortlessly in just a few simple steps.

We first make sure that our text cursor is inside the cell into which we want to display the total price.

Using the new Formula > Insert command found in the Table menu, we bring up the Formula dialog box (figure 2). 

Figure 2 - Zoom in

 Via this dialog box, we can enter a formula ourselves — but Smart Styles CS3 has detected that the cells above out current cell already contain values and that we most likely would like to add up these values. We therefore leave the default formula =SUM(ABOVE) in place.

In the Number Format list, we select a formatting style that also automatically adds the Euro currency symbol for us.

After clicking OK, the calculation is performed, placed inside the cell and highlighted in orange. Of course, if any of the given values are changed or if products are added to or removed from the list, we can update the outcome of the formula in just a few steps! (figure 3)

Figure 3 - Zoom in

What would you like to do next?

• Dowload a fully functional 30-day trial version of Smart Styles
• Obtain a Brochure
• Read the Manual
• Find a WoodWing Reseller nearby
• Purchase Smart Styles online