Q: iWorks numbers would auto complete a cell entry from similar entries above that cell.  How do I get new numbers to do this feature?

B4,

This feature was dropped in Numbers 3.0.  Apple has issued a list of items it plans to add this feature back in the next months:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT6049?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

"Would have been nice to have a "What's New" document for N 3.0"

Yes, it would have.

Try these two threads:

What has been GAINED in  the Numbers 3.0 upgrade?

What has been LOST in Numbers 3.0 upgrade?

Both contain lists that are updated. Work back from the end of these lengthy threads for the most recent lists.

Regards,

Barry

Hi B4man,

If you frequently enter repeating values in a column and don't want to type the same text over and over again, Numbers 3 has a good solution in the form of an enanced Pop-Up Menu feature that you might want to consider using even after "auto-complete" is reintroduced. In many situations, particularly if you want to avoid typos or capitalization inconsistencies creeping in and messing up your data, Pop-Up Menu is a better solution than "auto-complete." It is much enhanced over what it was in Numbers 2.3, and is easy to set up:

Select the whole column or range before formatting as Pop-Up Menu and your existing values in that column or range will pre-populate a menu automatically:

Then you can remove the values you don't want in the list, such as the column header (and possibly some previous spelling errors too!):

And after this easy one-time setup all you have to do thereafter is to choose from the pop-up list when you add rows:

See this post for more details on how this handy feature has been enhanced in Numbers 3.0.

And should you ever want to take your Numbers with you and do data entry on an iPad or iPhone, in a touch interface, pop-ups are much more efficient than typing the first few letters of items. You can scroll with ease through a list of dozens of items to make a pick. Anybody using Numbers cross-platform should favor Pop-Up so they can use their documents efficiently for data input on the go.

Even for keyboard-intensive work on the Mac, formatting cells as Pop-Up Menu can be a better choice than auto-complete, particularly if you've got numerous hard-to-spell values, perhaps some capitalized and some not, where the capitalization can be significant.

See this thread for this and other workarounds for Numbers 3.0.

SG

When is the new version coming out?  I appreciate the tip on the Pop-Up menu.  That is going to work great for a few columns.  I need the auto suggest for another column where I am entering clients' names.  This would be too long of a pop down menu and it is too labor intensive adding a new one each time.  Is there another way?  Also, can you alphabetize the Pop-Up Menu suggestions? 

Thanks for the great help.

"When is the new version coming out? "

Anyone who actually knows that will be bound by a non-disclosure agreement. Apple has stated that one of more updates will be released 'in the next six months' to include several features not yet present in Numbers 3. At the time of that statement, 'in the next six months' could be interpreted as "by the end of May, 2014."

I need the auto suggest for another column where I am entering clients' names.  This would be too long of a pop down menu and it is too labor intensive adding a new one each time.  Is there another way?

You could create a lookup table containing the names of all the clients. This would allow you to enter a partial name into a cell and receive the full name back in a second cell. Note that the search would not take place until you confirmed the entry of the partial name, and would return only the first entry that provided the closest match to the partial name.

Also, can you alphabetize the Pop-Up Menu suggestions? "

Pop-up menu items cannot be sorted once they are in the menu. They can, however be replaced with a new set, and that set can be sorted while it is in a table before it is inserted into a pop-up menu.. See SG's post above.

One caution regarding editing pop-up menus: In Numbers '09, when pop=up formatted cells were filled down to populate a column, and replaced menus in those cells, the new menu AND ITS CURRENT SETTING replaced the menus and settings in each of the filled cells. Th caution there was to apply revised menus to ONLY those cells whose menus had not yet been used. I do not know if that caution still applies with Numbers 3.

Regards,

Barry

One caution regarding editing pop-up menus: In Numbers '09, when pop=up formatted cells were filled down to populate a column, and replaced menus in those cells, the new menu AND ITS CURRENT SETTING replaced the menus and settings in each of the filled cells. Th caution there was to apply revised menus to ONLY those cells whose menus had not yet been used. I do not know if that caution still applies with Numbers 3.

I don't *think* this is a problem, but I'm not sure if I understand fully. In Numbers 3.0 you can extend the Pop-Up formatting to new cells via Format > Copy Style then Format > Paste Style and this does not copy the current setting. If you fill a cell down the current setting is applied. If you select two cells and fill down, the pattern of currently settings is recognized and applied.

SG

"In Numbers 3.0 you can extend the Pop-Up formatting to new cells via Format > Copy Style then Format > Paste Style and this does not copy the current setting. If you fill a cell down the current setting is applied. If you select two cells and fill down, the pattern of currently settings is recognized and applied."

Copy Style/Paste Style is a change in behaviour, then. In Numbers '09 Selecting a pop-up menu formtted cell, then using Copy Style (or option-command-C), then selecting a different cell and using Paste Style (or option-command-V) has no effect on the second cell.  Fill Down, using the Fill handle, works as above.

Regards,

Barry

Copy Style/Paste Style is a change in behaviour, then. In Numbers '09 Selecting a pop-up menu formtted cell, then using Copy Style (or option-command-C), then selecting a different cell and using Paste Style (or option-command-V) has no effect on the second cell.

Ok, thanks for the heads up on that. As far as I can tell, there aren't unexpected pitfalls in the new Pop-Up Menu implementation.

SG

Hi Barry,

One caution regarding editing pop-up menus: In Numbers '09, when pop=up formatted cells were filled down to populate a column, and replaced menus in those cells, the new menu AND ITS CURRENT SETTING replaced the menus and settings in each of the filled cells. Th caution there was to apply revised menus to ONLY those cells whose menus had not yet been used. I do not know if that caution still applies with Numbers 3.

In Numbers 3.0.1 start with a selected list of cells.

Format Panel > Cell > Data Format > Pop-Up Menu automatically lists the items

Then add another menu item by clicking on the + button

Camera icon playing up. To be continued...

Regards,

Ian

The next instalment...

Type Beer

Now drag Beer to where you want it in the list of menu items

To get this Pop-Up Menu

Adding or reordering an item does not change the original values in the cells. You can even change one Pop-Up then Merge to other cells

Come on in! The water's fine!

Regards,

Ian.

Hi Ian,

Very helpful post with examples.

I believe everything I see in American TV commercials, so I hope your Australian readers won't be confused by your dragging the alcoholic beverage up to B rather than F.

SG

Hi SG,

Added Foster's and Bourbon in two shakes of a dead lamb's tail...

Drag to sort in Format Panel > Cell > Data Format

Then select all cells that apply to that Pop-Up and Merge

to get

Cheers!

Ian.