How to Create Graph Paper in Affinity Publisher: Step-by-Step Tutorial

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to format large Tables in Affinity Publisher without causing performance issues.

If you've ever tried to create a complex Table and found the app slowing down or crashing, these steps will help you avoid that.

Step 1: Set Up the Table

1. Open Affinity Publisher and start a new A4 page
2. Select the Table Tool and draw out a Table of any size
3. Set the Table to 42 columns and 60 rows
4. Adjust the cell size to 5mm by 5mm
   

Step 2: Apply Default Borders

1. Select all the cells in the Table
2. Open the Stroke and Fill section in the Table Panel
3. Choose a default border and apply it to all borders of the Table
4. I set the stroke to 0.5pt
5. Best practice is to use a Global Colour for consistency and easy future updates
   

Step 3: Add Thicker Borders Every Five Columns

1. Zoom in on the Table for easier selection
2. Hold the Command key (Mac) or Ctrl key (Windows) to make a non-contiguous selection
3. Select columns F to J, P to T, Z to D, and J to N
4. In the Stroke and Fill section of the Table panel, select the vertical borders option and set the stroke to 1 pt
   

Step 4: Add Thicker Borders Every Five Rows

1. Hold Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) to make a non-contiguous selection of rows
2. Select rows 6 to 10, 16 to 20, and continue the pattern all the way down the page
3. In the Stroke and Fill panel, select the horizontal border option and set the stroke to 1 pt
   

Step 5: Workaround for Larger Tables

1. Create a smaller Table than you need - mine was 10 columns by 10 rows
2. Format the borders as needed - I used 0.2 pt stroke inside and 0.5 pt stroke outside
3. I then resized the cells to 1 mm by 1 mm making the Table 10 mm x 10 mm
   

Step 6: Convert the Table to a Symbol (Optional)

1. Name your Table group - I called mine "Cell Group"
2. Use StudioLink to activate Affinity Designer toolset
3. Convert the Table to a Symbol for easier updates
   

Step 7: Duplicate the Table

1. Select the Table and press Enter to open the Move / Duplicate dialog box
2. Set horizontal movement to 10mm and make 14 copies
3. Group the rows together to tidy up the Layers Panel
4. Repeat the process vertically, making 20 copies
   

Step 8: Crop to Fit the Page

1. Use the Vector Crop Tool to adjust the Table to fit your page dimensions
2. Group the entire Table and name it "Graph Paper"
   

Step 9: Making Updates

Use Global Colours and Symbols to make updates more efficient but be careful when using Table Formats with large Tables — they can cause slow performance.

If you need to resize the Table cells, and you created a Symbol, editing the Symbol is a quick way to apply changes across all groups.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you’ll be able to work with large Tables in Affinity Publisher without it crashing. The key is to manage the Table size and make use of Symbols and the Move / Duplicate feature.

If you enjoyed this tutorial and want more tips and tricks, be sure to check out my free training at ElaineGiles.com/VIP. Don’t forget to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you never miss a new tutorial.

If you have any specific tutorial requests, feel free to reach out - I’d love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading and watching, and see you next time!