How to make MS Office Mail Merge create varied colored boxes (or similar effect)
March 26, 2008 6:54 PM Subscribe
I need to do something very specific with Mail Merge (I think thats the best way to do it) but I have no idea how. Basically I want to take info from a spreadsheet and convert it into a variable number of different colored boxes of a constant size in a document.
I am working on making a Board Game prototype.
I need to make cards that have on them from 1 to 5 boxes that must be 1cm by 1cm. The data in the spreadsheet will dictate the number of boxes and the fill color of the boxes. The spreadsheet data will look something like this (with r = red, bl = blue etc)
r - bl- br
r - y
w - r - y - bl
I have used mail merge before some, but I don't know how to elegantly do what I am trying to do. Any advice or alternate methodologies appreciated.
By the way, all of this (the mail merge "code" and final product) has to fit into a 3in by 2in space... which could be a pain since when I have used mail merge in the past the little <>> brackets made text that needed to fit into tight spaces get thrown off (if anyone knows what I am talking about)
I am working on making a Board Game prototype.
I need to make cards that have on them from 1 to 5 boxes that must be 1cm by 1cm. The data in the spreadsheet will dictate the number of boxes and the fill color of the boxes. The spreadsheet data will look something like this (with r = red, bl = blue etc)
r - bl- br
r - y
w - r - y - bl
I have used mail merge before some, but I don't know how to elegantly do what I am trying to do. Any advice or alternate methodologies appreciated.
By the way, all of this (the mail merge "code" and final product) has to fit into a 3in by 2in space... which could be a pain since when I have used mail merge in the past the little <>> brackets made text that needed to fit into tight spaces get thrown off (if anyone knows what I am talking about)
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posted by amethysts at 7:58 PM on March 26, 2008