Import Excel table or cells into MadCap table

[sds]

Maybe there's a better way to do this. I'm given software release notes in an Excel doc that's part of a larger organizational document. Was hoping to just copy or import the two columns I need into a table on a Topic that I keep for this purpose. I'm sure there's a more modern way of doing this but this is what I'm working with right now. Updates are quarterly so it's not too bad but it's a pain in the neck when I need to do it.

[robdocsmith]

I don't know a straighforward way to do it. Though I do import data regularly into Flare documents from Excel using external scripts. Python is my scripting language of choice and it can be used to grab data from spreadsheets, reformat into HTML and create an HTML file ready for use. There are plenty of online resources to help develop simple scripts to do this and other repetitive tasks.

Cheers,
Rob

[devjoe]

If Flare could copy a table of data from an outside application into a table within a topic neatly it would be nice, but I find it usually just pastes as text. So I usually try to get it as an HTML page first, with some workaround like paste just the data I want into a new Excel sheet, save that sheet as HTML, and open that within Flare. Then I can copy the table where I want it within Flare. Usually I have to wipe all the formatting because Excel saves it with about 100 attributes on every single cell.

[Nita Beck]

It's quite easy to copy cells out of Excel (or some other spreadsheet format) and paste them into Flare..

1. Copy the cells in Excel.
2. In Flare in a topic or snippet, add a blank paragraph and then Paste. Then, look for the little clipboard icon at the lower right of what was just pasted. It's a drop-down. Select Paste Table.
3. Format the table as you usually would.

That's it.

Read more about this and other paste options: https://help.madcapsoftware.com/flare2021r3/Content/Flare/Topics/Other-Activities/Pasting-Text-Other-Programs.htm