Iterate for Circular References

Answer to myself- it just can't do it, as least not that I can tell. Everytime I think I can switch to iWork 08 I keep finding things it can't do that are really basic. Every other spreadsheet on the market can automatically solve by iteration (other spreadsheets have an iteration button) for simultaneous equations, NeoOffice, Excel, etc., something even students need. This is getting really frustrating. I will submit as a want list to Apple. If I anyone can show me where it can iterate I would greatly appreciate it, but I don't think it can (I really hope I am wrong). A workaround is not a solution- there are already too many to memorize now in pages and numbers. I know numbers is version one, but it does not make it any less frustrating.

First of all, respectfully, it was not a sham question. After posting it I spent non-stop trying to find the answer elsewhere and when I found out it couldn't be done I posted that it couldn't be done for the benefit of everyone. Also, I did, in my earlier search, find the template you noted. That is just one of another workaround to solve something that should have not to be worked out.

Second, I will post what I just did in another on another flaw I found (I have been trying all weekend to try to find a way to use numbers and avoid going to Excel 2008 or NeoOffice) and you, gave one of the same answers I keep hearing of several variations.

It seems like everytime someone has a need that numbers does not do, something very basic, the pat answers are 1) either numbers is not excel (or numbers is different- we are not microsoft) or 2) numbers is not for you, or 3) tell apple. The fact is these are just really, really basic things that the most basic of spreadsheets need to have that people keep bringing up. Whether someone is a basic spreadsheet user, a student in high school or college, the list just keeps growing as to basic things numbers won't do that these users need. This forum is just full of these basics that are missing.

Don't get me wrong- I really want to try to be able to use this product, which is why I have devoted the time to try and figure it out. It should not threaten others when I report back what I found, which they can choose to agree with or ignore.

Also, as a side note, it was not seconds later as you state. If you will note the time stamps of my two entries you will see they were almost two hours apart as I spent several hours after my first post trying hard to find the answer or a solution because I truly want to know the answer and then I reported back since nobody had answered my post.

Points taken and I respect your opinion. I wasn't trying to gripe although I can see why it is viewed this way. Whenever I do something I just want to make sure I have fully analyzed the issues, shortcomings, positives and negatives, and so I have really explored the entire iWork 08 product to be sure I am ready to move, looking at each issue piece by piece as I test it to make a decision. I was hoping someone might find answers to these issues or tell me where I was wrong as there was a way to actually do what I was looking for (and just missing) in the product.

The bottom line is that I am probably going to switch, effective tomorrow, at work, moving everything from office to iwork 08. I really can't stand Office 2004 and find it very inferior to Office 2007 (and for that matter earlier windows versions), missing many basic features. I have been running Office 2007 in Parallels, but am tired of doing so and want to move fully to the Mac natively. Unfortunately, from what I seen of the previews of Office 2008 it still does not have many of the long-offered features of the current and prior windows versions of Office, so it is not a solution. I really do think iWork 08, on the whole, is probably a good solution for me.

I have made my enhancement requests known to Apple and I will keep my fingers crossed. I think I can do without the circular reference issue by just using neooffice or an old copy of excess for those relatively few times I will need this issue. There is a great deal to like about pages and numbers and I think, on balance, they outweigh the shortcomings by a significant margin. The only other wish I have is noted elsewhere in this forum pertaining to precision as displayed of calculations in numbers. I guess I will decide to live with this also, but I am going to hope and pray Apple considers my enhancement request as this is much more important, at least to me, for reasons noted in my other comments on this issue.

Best regards.

Thanks. Just spent all day Sunday transforming one of my 100+ page reports into a pages template, compete with lots of numbers tables in it. Works great and easy to use and I think it is going to work just fine. The only two shortcomings I see so far are:

1) Size of file- 4.8 MB , versus the word version which was 1 MB.

2) When I had a 20 or so numbers line table in the document with lots of calcs throughout it was very slow to allow me to put in numbers in the cells whereas it was instantaneous with an excel table in a word document. It is not like I have a slow computer- 3 month old MacBook Pro with 4 gig of RAM.

I can't move any of the files out to do the calcs as it defeats the ease of what I have to do everyday with big docs. Any suggestions on how to speed it up?

I do not use numbers outside. That would take too long. I actually create tables directly in the document and do my math in each table directly in the report, with various formulas I have created in them. I input numbers in the tables and they calculate various things. This is the same way I did in Windows with Word. You could create an embedded spreadsheet directly in the report in Excel without ever having to create an outside spreadsheet. These would be interspersed throughout the report as tables. Everybody in my firm and most people in my field in the finance area do it this way. It would take forever to have to do this outside and then paste in or drag in for each report.