How to Make Tables

[~Phoebe~]

Reserved for Lorenzi's Game Boards Tutorial.

[~Phoebe~]

This is MEGA's original post, using Excel instead of Lorenzi's Game Boards. It has been archived for educational purposes.
Last Updated: Aug 11, 2018

This is going to be potentially an in depth tutorial on how to make your own personalized war table for Mario Kart wars. I most likely wont cover everything but I do plan to cover most things.


Also I'm sure there might be one of these threads lying around somewhere but hopefully I can offer something it doesn't.


You might or might not be able to create a table that works similar to http://prntscr.com/538hdk if you read or already know most of the stuff I plan to cover.


Programs I use

Microsoft Excel Starter
Gimp 2.8
Lightshot


Alright lets get started.


First of all you're going to want to slowly build up segments of the table (Clan vs Clan section, Date section, Tag section etc) Stretching cells and centering text can help with this, http://prntscr.com/538ir7 http://prntscr.com/538j9f


After you've decided where information is going to go (template idea if you need some guidance, http://prntscr.com/538ky6 ) you most likely want to use the SUM function to auto add up or divide data that is added on the table. The easiest way to me is go to the cell that is going to get the answer from the sum and pressing =, this should allow you to select another cell and then type + and select another cell to make them add, http://prntscr.com/538m63 (/ is divide, * is multiply and - is subtract). Also to get +/- on the table, type '+/- in the cell. =today() is a code for the date to self update.


If you wish to auto copy sums without typing them out, highlight the cell with your sum already typed in, http://prntscr.com/538my1 . Now you see a black box on the bottom right on the cell, drag it down as many cells as you want it in, http://prntscr.com/538n7a you should get a 0 in the cells you have a sum in, http://prntscr.com/538ngy . If you wish to test the sums, add numbers to the cells they have in the sum, http://prntscr.com/538np6 .


Once you have all the sums you need, http://prntscr.com/538ohe you have a working table, very bland and boring, but working.


Now lets make that table not so boring to look at, this can be done in a few ways, cell coloring and background adding. Lets start with cell coloring, highlight the area (cells) of where you want a color to go, http://prntscr.com/538p33 now select the bucket option and select a color, http://prntscr.com/538paq and it should have colored the cells selected to the color you picked, http://prntscr.com/538po5 . Here is a template of a finished colored table if you're stuck for ideas, http://prntscr.com/538qgh (text color is next to the bucket, same principle applies)


Lets say cell coloring doesn't make your table good enough to you, you can add a background image for the table, a simple way is to just go to google and download an image and add it like this, http://prntscr.com/538rnz . However, there is a way to make the table so it has more than one image used (see the table I referenced at the top of this thread).


So to make a background like that, I personally use excel to template where to put the images, lightshot to cut out excess parts of the image and get a pic of the template I made in excel and Gimp 2.8 to layer images onto each other. (some parts may not be imaged while explaining all of this because i can't lightshot, lightshot)


1. Make a template in excel (remove all text on the table, save the table before doing this for safe measure), http://prntscr.com/538tl8

2. Lightshot the template and save it to your computor, (make sure you dont get excess pixels or lose pixels while selecting the template area with lightshot)

3. Find 3 images you like that dont look similar (I just google e.g. black pattern and download which one I like most)

4. Open Gimp 2.8 (or Photoshop) and open one of your 3 images, http://prntscr.com/538v41

5. Now File>Open as layer and select your template, http://prntscr.com/538vrm also if your image is really big you can scale it down to size, http://prntscr.com/538w0d don't make it smaller than the template.

6. You now have your template on your image, select one of the colors you wish to remove off the template and remove it, http://prntscr.com/538ymx.

7. Export the image (File>Export)

8. Open the 2nd image of your 3 and repeat what you just did for the first image.

9. Do the same for the 3rd image

10. Open the image you just created and make sure its on 100% otherwise this will fail, http://prntscr.com/538zxx

11. Lightshot the image selecting the area that table will use only and save the image, http://prntscr.com/5391c6

12. Open up your table that you saved and use the background feature shown above in this thread and select your table image (for colored cells, select them and color them with no fill in the bucket option), it should look like this: http://prntscr.com/5392lm

13. Remove the Gridlines, http://prntscr.com/5392ys

14. Color cells not needed around the table black, http://prntscr.com/5393bp and you're done


Sorry for the mile long tutorial but its best done like this, if you have any difficulties, inbox me or leave a message on this thread and I will try to answer asap