hi randy
yes, you can insert a table (shartcut: 'a') – but its not a table like a part of an excel spreadsheet. its a series of grouped rectangles. when i remember right, you have to ungroup them before they work as text frames (or you can convert some of them to image frames…)
an alternative is to build your tables in another program (e.g. libreoffice), export as a .pdf and import this .pdf file into an image frame. (in this case, you should check
'file' → 'document setup' → 'pdf export' → 'general' → 'embed pdf & eps files' and keep in mind that there is no color conversion to the output profile for this frames.)
I can copy text and images from either Open Office and/or Libre Office into the image and text template portions…
you should not insert images by 'drag & drop' – if you do so, you blow up the .sla file and slow down the performence of scribus (you can even run out of your ram, so you won't be able to open your files any more – at least one forum member had this problem…)
the usual way is to import pictures with a double click at the image frame. (the images are linked to the file, not embedded…)
utnik