Importing text as a table

[scooter262]

In Version 6.0, I could select a table (a bunch of rows/columns) from an Excel spreadsheet, and then in a Flare topic, click Ctrl-V to paste the text. Then, Flare would bring up a dialog box, giving me options for how to import the text -- I could then import it as a table (Paste as a Table).

I can't seem to do this in Flare 7. When I copy an area of an Excel spreadsheet, and then paste it into a topic in Flare 7, it just comes in as a bunch of paragraphs -- there is no dialog box asking me about how I'd like to paste the information.

So, what's up? Where did that dialog box go? I liked having the option as to how I'd like to import my text. How can I import table info into a topic in Flare 7?

[Nita Beck]

Not to worry. The functionality is still there, but the UI was redesigned in Flare 7 (and you may or may not like it; some users seem to, while others don't).

Try again to paste in the table, but notice that you'll see a little Paste icon slightly to the right and below what you pasted. Click that icon, and then you'll see the different paste-as options, including Paste Table. Flare will remember the last saved option to use for future pastes.

[scooter262]

Thank you for your reply. I was pasting in more than one screen's worth of information, so in order to see the icon, I needed to scroll down. Completely non-intuitive.

[Nita Beck]

Thank you for your reply. I was pasting in more than one screen's worth of information, so in order to see the icon, I needed to scroll down. Completely non-intuitive.

I think the button is also up on a toolbar somewhere, and I'm sorry that I didn't mention that sooner. With the toolbar button, you can at least set the desired behavior before doing any pasting.

[LTinker68]

Completely non-intuitive.

Unfortunately, I think they copied this behavior from Word or got the idea from there. I hate those things in Word, too, and I for one preferred the screen in Flare that came up when pasting. I don't get the reason for the change, especially since it doesn't really save you many steps and even adds one if you need to scroll down, as you discovered.

[Andrew]

Completely non-intuitive.

Unfortunately, I think they copied this behavior from Word or got the idea from there. I hate those things in Word, too, and I for one preferred the screen in Flare that came up when pasting. I don't get the reason for the change, especially since it doesn't really save you many steps and even adds one if you need to scroll down, as you discovered.

I'm not a huge fan of the new behavior, but I like it better than the popup screen. If I'm copying stuff from Word or PDF to Flare, I don't need it to ask me every time how to paste. Just provide a sane default, give me an option to change it easily if I need to (and most times, I won't need to). When I copy / paste a bunch of stuff from a PDF, there's a very high probability that I want to use the same paste method for the next 10 copies. Popping up that dialog every time is silly, at least for my workflows, because I have to manipulate the mouse for every paste.

In my tests, at least, it appears that Flare scrolls the topic so that you can always click the "smart tag" after you paste. If you have a situation where it doesn't, that may be a defect in that particular circumstance, and worth reporting.