Add and edit table cell content

When you double-tap a table cell, the keyboard appears so you can enter content. Use the buttons on the keyboard to switch between keyboards to enter the type of data you want (letters, numbers, or symbols). You can also copy and paste content into cells from somewhere else.

Note: If you can’t add content to a table, make sure it’s unlocked. Select the table, tap Format button, tap Arrange, then tap Unlock (if you don’t see Unlock, the table isn’t locked).

Add content

If a table cell is empty, tap or double-tap it so you see the insertion point and the keyboard, then start typing.

If you want to type numbers or symbols and the alphabetic keyboard is showing, tap Numeric keyboard button. If you want to type letters and the numeric keyboard is showing, tap Alphabetic keyboard button.

To edit a cell that already has content, do any of the following:

Wrap text to fit in a cell

If a cell isn’t wide enough to display all the text in the cell, you can wrap the text so it appears on multiple lines in the cell.

Clear content from a cell

Clear content from a range of cells

Insert a line break or tab into text in a table cell

You can insert a line break to type multiple paragraphs of text in a table cell. You can also insert a tab to align text.

  1. Double-tap a cell.

  2. Type the first paragraph of your text, then do one of the following:

    • Insert a line break: Tap Insert button in the format bar above the keyboard, then tap Line Break.

    • Insert a tab: Tap Tab button on the left side of the format bar above the keyboard.

  3. Type the text of the next paragraph, then insert a line break or tab as described above.

Add an object to a table cell

You can paste objects—including images, lines, shapes, and text boxes—into table cells. You can also add text to a cell that already has an object.

Note: To paste text with an object, the object must first be set to “Move with Text,” and the text wrap for the object set to “Inline with Text” (which makes it an inline object). For information about adding inline objects to text, see Place objects with text.

  1. Select the object or the text that contains the object, then tap Cut or Copy (cut removes it from its original location).

  2. Double-tap the cell where you want to add the content. (You can paste the content into a cell that already has text.)

  3. Tap and hold where you want to add the content, then tap Paste.

When you paste a movie in a cell, only the poster image shows—the movie doesn’t play. However, the movie properties are retained so that if you copy and paste the movie elsewhere, it will play in its new location.

To remove an object from a cell, double-tap the cell, place the insertion point in the cell to the right of the object, then tap Delete button.

Copy or move table cells

When you copy a table cell, or move a cell’s data to a new location in the table, all of the cell’s properties are also copied or moved, including its data format, fill, border, and comments.

  1. Select the cells you want to copy or move.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • Paste and overwrite existing content: Tap the cell, then tap Copy. Select the top-left cell where you want to paste the data, tap the cell again, then tap Paste.

      If your data contains formulas, tap Paste Formulas or Paste Value Only. The data overwrites any existing data.

    • Paste outside of an existing table to create a new table: Tap near the edge of the screen, then tap Paste. A new table is created with the pasted cells.

    • Move the data: After selecting the cells, touch and hold the selection until the cells appear to rise off the table, then drag them to another location in the table. Any existing data is replaced by the new data.

SEE ALSOFormat cells to display different types of dataResize table rows and columnsLink to websites and email addressesMerge or unmerge table cells