Q: How to layout a page in numbers 3.0 -- I can't edit in print view

the comment that made the most sense to me was to change the way I do things to work better with the current app (credit user Maclakeham. So, what makes this work is to use a new sheet for each page and not make the sheets too complex.

Agree with you.  And the included templates provide good examples of how to impement this design philosophy.

SG

@BlaStar,

For those whose priorities fit that mould, yours seems a reasonable route to take.

For thse placing a greater emphasis on the ability to shape and control the display on a printed page than on the ability to flip back and forth between platforms (Mac OS and iOS) the better route might be to continue using Numbers '09 for Mac. If it was installed on your Mac earlier, it will still be there, in an iWork '09 folder in your Applications folder.

If choosing this route, a companion step should be to Provide Numbers Feedback requesting better page layout controls in Numbers 3. The Feedback link can be found in the Numbers menu (of either Mac version).

Regards,

Barry

@Barry

Yes, going back to using Numbers '09 is a reasonable alternative, one which I considered. As a graphic artist most of my career I appreciated the layout control which it gave me. The alternative I now choose, accepting less control by adapting to the new design, instead, saves me the time it would take working around an unknown amount of difficulties of having both the old and new Numbers apps on my system at the same time. I tested the multiple sheet concept and found the design control good enough while the difficulty of use minimal. If ever Apple reincorporates page layout control I am sure I would jump to take advantage of that again. By-the-way I did send feedback to Apple asking for them to restore that feature. Back in the day it was the page layout control that set Numbers apart from other spreadsheet programs.

Good luck with your continued use of Numbers '09.

B

Well, I wouldn't call it a design philosophy. Imo it's a workaround for a missing feature. For smaller projects it might be ok to have one sheet per page. However, that doesn't work any more when your sheets are actually sections (like in a Pages document). I think Sheets should be used for content structuring but not for page layout. Page layout should happen inside sheets.

Hi papalapapp,

I remember that you were a contributor to this forum when logboys asked for a solution to their daily and cumulative sales. This solution worked for them in Numbers '09 (Numbers 2.3)

See here: Logboys

Two Sheets: 'Today' and 'Summaries'.

Here is a revised version for Numbers 3.1. The only two changes I had to make were:

1. in the Text Box below the table called 'Daily Total Sales: Sacks' ("Paste Values" is now "Paste Formula Results").

2. At the end of business each day, select and copy these totals (Cells B2 to D2). Then click on 'Daily total sales' table in the Summaries Sheet Tab (not the Sheets Pane as in Numbers '09)

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/pbo0qsyt1mausc0/01LTCEyvP-

Dropbox available for 48 hours from 10:00 pm Monday 9th March 2014, Australian Eastern Standard Time. I need my Dropbox for other things.

With respect, that design philosophy has been in Numbers long before Numbers 3.x was released. Small, discrete tables, each with a purpose. Hide the tables that do not need to be printed on another sheet. If you must print the large 'Database' or 'Number Crunching' tables, then I agree that Page View would be handy.

Regards,

Ian.

Tell that to my clients what want a report that they can distribute to their board members before their meetings. No way! This just shows that Apple is not taking business users seriously - as always.

Hi jonasmn,

What kind of report do your clients want? Is it the nuts-and-bolts detail of the full database, or a summary for the board?

Numbers has always been good at summarising on one sheet, leaving the large databases and intermediate calculations 'hidden' (not for printing) on other sheets.

For sure, Numbers 3.x sadly lacks the editable Print View and Layout View of Numbers 2.x (Numbers '09). We are stuck (for now) with the barely-editable Print Preview.

Have a look at this User Tip for creating a Layout Guide to help align objects within page margins:

Print Layout Guide for Mac Numbers 3.2

Numbers '09 may be on your machine. How to work with the old and new versions of iWork:

Need newer version of Numbers to open file

Regards,

Ian.

Hi Ian,

I do work with Numbers v.2 and the only thing I use v 3 for is to convert the iOS versions to versions compatible with Numbers 09.

The reports that I do are varying and I actually have a lot of text in them. I have made Templates with pre filled boxes os text, spreadsheets etc., that I then fill in with specific numbers, edit the text, add what is missing and deletes the spreadsheets, text and graphics that are not appropriate for the specific client. I could do something similar with Pages, but it would be a lot of copy and paste each time. Numbers 09 really revolutionized my work when it first came, making it possible to create things and have efficient work flows in a way that I have NEVER experienced before. Numbers 09 really saves me much time at the same time making my reports fabulous, compared with the Microsoft people.

Regards

Jonas

Thanks, Jonas!

I too use Numbers 2 (easy layout) and Numbers 3 (better built-in templates and some added features). Easy to Export "backwards". I have found that many of the so-called "lost" features in Numbers 3 are simply in a new place (Oh dear... where have they hidden it this time?). Or require workarounds.

Numbers 2 is "orphanware" but let's use it while we can as we move on.

Regards,

Ian.

Looks like we are past the point of no return.

The new Numbers for Yosemite is out and still no return to the old layout adjustments in Print view. I just dont get it. I tried drawing rectangles to get some idea how the page may look like. Did not work.

I have to arange 25 tables in the middle of the page. With 2.3 it was a walk in the park. Now I .... for get it. not worth it.

one more thing...

I will switch to exel

Hi everyone,

Numbers has always been good at summarising on one sheet, leaving the large databases and intermediate calculations 'hidden' (not for printing) on other sheets.

For sure, Numbers 3.x sadly lacks the editable Print View and Layout View of Numbers 2.x (Numbers '09). We are stuck (for now) with the barely-editable Print Preview.

Have a look at this User Tip for creating a Layout Guide to help align objects within page margins:

Print Layout Guide for Mac Numbers 3.2

Example of an A4 page with a Layout Guide:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fpkzfbwcj8lgz5c/A4%20Landscape%20Layout%20Guide.number s?dl=0

For Portrait format, rotate the rectangle and move the Ruler Guides .

Be sure to enable Menu > Numbers > Rulers > Alignment Guides (tick every box)

Menu > View > Show Rulers also helps.

Numbers '09 may be on your machine. How to work with the old and new versions of iWork:

Need newer version of Numbers to open file

Numbers 2 is "orphanware" but we can keep using it until the system software no longer supports it.

Happy Numbering!

Regards,

Ian.

While there are work-arounds to using Numbers 3 the only true solution is to use Numbers '09 for now.

The only advantage to using Numbers 3 is the use of iCloud iPad use.

My work-around is this:

1. Convert any iPad Numbers document to Numbers '09 using Mac Numbers 3  File > Export To > Numbers '09...
2. Use Numbers '09 to do real Design & Layout
3. Convert a COPY to Numbers 3 for iCloud iPad Numbers use using Numbers 3 for Mac
4. Repeat as necessary.

At this point, the only use for Mac Numbers 3 and Pages 5 is as a file converter for use of iPad Numbers

Numbers 3 and Pages 5 are simply iOS apps for Mac, with no thought to producing Beyond Digital Layout.

iWork '09 is still the best Design & Layout suite for Spreadsheets and Page Layout without spending hundreds of dollars.

Most Important

Provide Feedback - (Do not think others will provide feedback for you, more feedback = greater voice = greater chance of change)

The Squeaky Wheel Gets Oiled

Mars

Hi Mars,

marsofearth wrote:

 

The only advantage to using Numbers 3 is the use of iCloud iPad use.

...

 

At this point, the only use for Mac Numbers 3 and Pages 5 is as a file converter for use of iPad Numbers

...

 

Numbers 3 and Pages 5 are simply iOS apps for Mac, with no thought to producing Beyond Digital Layout.

...

iWork '09 is still the best Design & Layout suite for Spreadsheets and Page Layout without spending hundreds of dollars.

I enjoyed your elegantly formatted post. However, perhaps those of us who don't print out static reports much anymore (I no longer have  a printer and am going in the reverse direction: scanning paper in to get rid of the clutter) don't really need so much page layout prowess (though desktop publishing on the Mac really was neat back in the 80s and 90s) as much as we need features like easy syncing and the ability to share our output dynamically online and via tablet.

Numbers 3 is a big step forward in that sense. And it also has other, unrelated improvements: less "quaint" interface, more power under the hood, dynamic charts, much easier Pop-Up Menu and Conditional Highlighting, and better AppleScript support, to name a few.

So perhaps you're overstating the case just a little.

SG

Your response is simply to defend an issue that is real to the users of this post.

I would hope not to find Trolls here on the Apple Boards,  but it seems very pretentious ones exist here.

Mars,

Well, I gave a little background around your post in hopes of encouraging reexamination of your statements that Numbers 3 is only "a file converter for use of iPad Numbers" or "simply iOS apps for Mac".   For many of us, it's a lot more than that.

Numbers 3 (obviously) is fundamentally different from Numbers 2.  But it's a powerful app in its own right.  In many ways it perhaps is better suited than Numbers 2 to the changing needs of most users. Those reading your post might not get that impression.

SG