When you select a table cell, the Smart Cell View appears at the bottom of the Numbers window. The Smart Cell View shows you the actual value of a selected cell (for example, “Apr 3, 2014 12:00 AM”), or the formatted value of a cell if you’re editing it (for example, “4/3”).
If the selected cell contains a formula, the Smart Cell View shows you the formula. If you are editing the formula, the Smart Cell View shows you the formula result.
You can also select a range of cells to see quick calculations for those cells, such as the sum, average, minimum value, maximum value, and count.
Do the following:
Select a cell: Click it.
Select a range of cells: Click a cell, then drag a selection handle (a white dot) any direction to encompass the range of cells you want to select.
Select a cell, then do any of the following:
Fill an empty cell: Type or paste text or values.
Replace the existing content: Click the cell, then start typing (the existing content is overwritten). Press Delete to remove all content from a cell.
Edit existing content: Double-click the cell, then type new content. You can insert a paragraph break by pressing Option-Return.
To remove content, select the cells, then press Delete. The cell’s data format, text style, and cell style are preserved. To remove all data, format, and styling, select the cells, then choose Edit > Clear All.
See Format cells to display different types of data to learn how to add formulas.
Select cells, then press Delete.
Deleting removes the content from the cells but preserves the cells’ data format, text style, and cell style. To remove all data, formatting, and styling, select the cells, then choose Edit > Clear All (the Edit menu is at the top of the computer screen).
You can quickly add the content from selected cells to adjacent cells without typing it. You can also fill a row or column with a logical sequence of data, for example, a series of digits, dates, or letters.
Do any of the following:
Autofill the content from one or more cells into adjacent cells: Select the cells with the content you want to copy, then move the pointer over a border of the selection until a yellow autofill handle appears. Drag the handle over the cells where you want to add the content.
Any data, cell format, formula, or fill associated with the selected cells is added, but comments aren’t. Autofilling overwrites existing data with the value you’re adding.
Autofill sequential content or patterns into adjacent cells: Type the first two items in the series in the first two body cells of the row or column you want to fill; for example, type A and B. Select the cells, move the pointer over a border of the selection until a yellow autofill handle appears, then drag the handle over the cells you want to fill.
You can also autofill cells using a pattern of values. For example, if two selected cells contain 1 and 4, the values 7 and 10 are added when you drag over the adjacent two cells (values are incremented by 3).
Autofilling doesn’t set up an ongoing relationship among cells in the group. After autofilling, you can change the cells independently of each other.
When you autofill cells, any formulas that refer to those cells are updated automatically to use the new value.
When you copy a cell, all of its properties are also copied, including its data format, fill, border, and comments. You can also move cells to another location in a table.
Select the cells you want to copy, then do one of the following:
Paste and overwrite existing content: Choose Edit > Copy, select the top-left cell where you want to paste the data, then choose Edit > Paste.
If your data range contains formulas, choose Paste Formula Results.
Paste without overwriting: Select the destination cells, then choose Insert > Copied Rows or Insert > Copied Columns. New rows or columns are added for the copied cells.
Paste a cell style: Choose Format > Copy Style, select the cells where you want to copy the style, then choose Format > Paste Style.
Paste outside of an existing table: Select the cells, then drag them where you want them. A new table is created with the pasted cells.
Move the data: Click and hold until the cells rise off the table, then drag the cells to another location in the table. Existing data is replaced by the new data.
If you copy a range of cells that include hidden data (either hidden or filtered) the hidden data is also copied. If you paste to a range of cells with a matching arrangement of hidden cells, the hidden data is also pasted. Otherwise, the hidden content isn’t pasted.