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- Jul 24, 2017
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Hi,
I'm pulling my hair out trying to do something that should be simple, but is turning out to be difficult. I have these name badges I need to create that are white with a blue logo on top. I included a sample (with the logos blurred out) to give you a visual.
https://ibb.co/cSs3H5
Basically, I'm trying to mail merge an excel list to have people's names and companies on these badges. Usually I make these 1 per page, which is easy, because I can just use a text box and center everything. But these are small enough for me to do 3-up, which means I can't use a text box because it does not allow you to use <<Next Record>>. It would be so much simpler if I could use a text box, but I can't, and I'm told to use tables to do this. The problem is, I cannot for the life of me get the table to fit right. This is how I've been trying to do this:
1. I insert the JPG of the 3-up name badges.
2. I set the positioning behind text, and then adjust the position to be center-aligned vertically and horizontally.
3. Create a table (either 1 x 3 or 1 x 6 .... see below) where the cells cover the white parts of the badges.
4. Insert the fields to be centered in the white parts of the badges.
I've tried to make a 1 column x 3 row table (with the cells split apart so they only fill the white part) and center the merge fields in there, but no matter how much I play with the positioning and the text wrapping, the table just won't cooperate with the image. I've also tried making a 1 column by 6 row, just in case you cant have cells distanced apart from each other. For example, I've tried making empty cells cover the blue part of the name badge and not filling it in anything, and then putting the fields in the white parts (with the next record fields in the 4th and 6th cells).
Basically, if I use text boxes, I can easily fill the white parts on the image, and have text that is center-aligned to the text box dimensions. Unfortunately, this makes doing 3-up impossible because I can't use <<Next Record>> in text boxes. But instead I am trying to use tables as is recommended. I have to keep resizing the height of the cells, and they never want to match up with the picture which I have placed behind the text. I can get some of the cells sized right, but then there's usually one that's not sized correctly, and then when I try to adjust that one, the other ones change... it's just a nightmare all around. Not to mention trying to select between the table and the image in Word is incredibly difficult, as it's always trying to select the wrong thing.
I'm pulling my hair out trying to do something that should be simple, but is turning out to be difficult. I have these name badges I need to create that are white with a blue logo on top. I included a sample (with the logos blurred out) to give you a visual.
Basically, I'm trying to mail merge an excel list to have people's names and companies on these badges. Usually I make these 1 per page, which is easy, because I can just use a text box and center everything. But these are small enough for me to do 3-up, which means I can't use a text box because it does not allow you to use <<Next Record>>. It would be so much simpler if I could use a text box, but I can't, and I'm told to use tables to do this. The problem is, I cannot for the life of me get the table to fit right. This is how I've been trying to do this:
1. I insert the JPG of the 3-up name badges.
2. I set the positioning behind text, and then adjust the position to be center-aligned vertically and horizontally.
3. Create a table (either 1 x 3 or 1 x 6 .... see below) where the cells cover the white parts of the badges.
4. Insert the fields to be centered in the white parts of the badges.
I've tried to make a 1 column x 3 row table (with the cells split apart so they only fill the white part) and center the merge fields in there, but no matter how much I play with the positioning and the text wrapping, the table just won't cooperate with the image. I've also tried making a 1 column by 6 row, just in case you cant have cells distanced apart from each other. For example, I've tried making empty cells cover the blue part of the name badge and not filling it in anything, and then putting the fields in the white parts (with the next record fields in the 4th and 6th cells).
Basically, if I use text boxes, I can easily fill the white parts on the image, and have text that is center-aligned to the text box dimensions. Unfortunately, this makes doing 3-up impossible because I can't use <<Next Record>> in text boxes. But instead I am trying to use tables as is recommended. I have to keep resizing the height of the cells, and they never want to match up with the picture which I have placed behind the text. I can get some of the cells sized right, but then there's usually one that's not sized correctly, and then when I try to adjust that one, the other ones change... it's just a nightmare all around. Not to mention trying to select between the table and the image in Word is incredibly difficult, as it's always trying to select the wrong thing.
