Easily generate and modify Tables in Adobe® Illustrator®?

Until now, the only way to create tables in Adobe® Illustrator® was to use a grid and make elaborate styling changes. Every change to positioning and style had to be made manually, sometimes over several documents.

In discussions with customers and partners, this has proven to be one of the core effort drivers in projects, along with the automated filling & updating of data from external sources. With our new plug-in we want to solve this problem. Since we have already solved the data supply from external sources with our priint:comet AI plug-in, we have focused here entirely on the simple creation of tables.

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One of the great strengths of Adobe's Creative Cloud tools is their extensibility. Today, Illustrator is used for many applications that require the creation, editing or design of tabular representations. With our priint:illustrator tables plug-in, we enable a particularly high level of ease and automation for many actions that today are only possible in Illustrator with great difficulty. This is made possible by our own tools and masks that our plug-in brings with it.

  • Create real tables including text frames automatically
  • Automatically convert graphic & text frames without rebuilding the table
  • Direct placement of image elements in tables
  • Direct work with frame, cell and column contours
  • Easy scaling of tables using the specially created tool
  • Automatic adaptation of cell contents when changing table geometry
  • Simple joining of cells
  • Full control over table appearance as well as table and cell formats

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FAQ

Technical Specifications

What version of Adobe® Illustrator® do I need?

The Plug-In can be run with Adobe® Illustrator® 2023 and 2022. We usually support the latest two versions of Illustrator.

Can I run this on Windows/Mac?

The Plug-In can be used with either Windows or Mac, there are separate installation packages for each one.

What other technical specs are required?

You just need to be able to run Adobe® Illustrator®.

Data Import

How can I import Excel/csv data?

Using the Tables panel, you can select “Import from file.”

Can I link data/spreadsheets?

This is not currently possible.

Can I copy/paste multiple cells into the Illustrator table?

This is not currently possible, the best way to bring data into illustrator is to import a .csv or excel document.

Can I copy/paste delineated data into the Illustrator table?

This is not currently possible, the best way to bring data into illustrator is to import a .csv or excel document.

Can I convert a text frame with text into a table?

This is not currently possible.

Interface

Where are my tools?

Tools may be hidden if the toolbar is in "Basic" mode. Click the ellipsis at the bottom of the toolbar and then use the flyout menu to change to advanced mode.

Why can I not select tools from the toolbar? / Why does it keep beeping at me?

A table must first be selected before using the tools in the toolbar.

Where are my new panels?

All panels are underneath Window- priint:comet

What else has been added to Illustrator®?

The Table Module adds tools, panels and some menu entries at Object - priint:comet - Tables.

Table Construction

How do I make a new table?

Have a look at our instructions here.

How to I change the number of rows on my table?

Please have a look at our documentation here.

How do I insert/delete a new row before/after?

Select a cell and click Object - priint:comet - Tables - Insert.

How do I resize my table?

Have a look at our documentation here.

How do I adjust column/row width?

Please have a look at our documentation here.

How do I select one or multiple cells?

Have a look at our instruction here.

How do I add content to a cell?

Please have a look at our documentation here.

Can I move entire rows & columns (as in Adobe® InDesign®)?

No, that is not currently possible.

Why can't I divide my cell?

Only cells that have been merged can be divided.

Table Styling

What does the Italic text in the panels mean?

Italicized words in the panel indicate that there are overrides present on that attribute. Right click the name for the option to clear.

How do I set my stroke to 0? / Why can't I set my stroke to 0?

We adapted the functionality from Adobe® InDesign® - To hide or remove a stroke, set the stroke to "no color" instead.

Can I assign a paragraph style to the cell/table style?

No, that is not possible.

Can I export/import tables/cell styles?

This is not currently possible.

Can I add a title or heading to my table?

You can use header rows and merge them.

How do I set my cells to a specific height/width?

Currently, this is only possible through scripting right now. Take a look at our article here.

How do I control the padding/inset in a cell?

Either through cell styles or the ‘Cell Setup’ dialog where the inset can be configured for text and graphic cells separately.

How do I vertically center the content in a cell?

Select the text frame, look for area type options (in control bar and probably other places. Mac: object/area type options)

Can I download premade styles?

This is not currently possible.

Can I set table strokes to "no fill" but still have them "on"? (Use Case: A large colored object behind, want to show through)

You should be able to set stroke opacity to 0 but still have stroke weight > 0

Can I customize my stroke style?

This is not currently possible.

General questions

Can someone edit my table if they don't have the plug-in?

All the elements are native Illustrator objects and act like that without the plug-in.

Once someone edits the table manually most likely all our tools will cease to function as they heavily rely on the document structure, positioning etc…

Does undo/redo work as expected?

Basically it works already, but there are still some bugs to be fixed. If you have one, please send the bug as detailed as possible described and if necessary with screenshot to beta@priint.com.

Can I automate table generation?

Currently, it is only possible with cScript. Have a look at our documentation for more detailed information here.

How do I report licensing issues, support, feature requests, or bugs?

For all these questions just send a mail to beta@priint.com.
Please be as detailed as possible and send screenshots if necessary. Our international team will be happy to help you.

Who exactly is priint Group / Werk II? What other plug-ins are there?

The priint Group / Werk II is a software company in the field of print and publishing automation. For more details about us, have a look here.

We have different offers and also priint:comet plug-ins. For a first overview you are welcome to read more. Otherwise, feel free to contact us at sales@priint.com for a first meeting.