Add Row duplicates Checkboxes from previous row

There really isn't any such thing as a blank checkbox -- the only two possible states are checked or unchecked, corresponding to the two possible binary values of TRUE & FALSE.

So the answer to your question is no, there is no way to create a blank checkbox.

Hi Roger Barre,
I'm a bit confused. In a column I place check boxes, they're checked, then add a row either above or below one of the rows that inserted row check box is empty, unchecked. Perhaps I'm not understanding what you're doing or viewing.

Maybe more help from you we may be able to better assist you perhaps.

Cordially,

RicD

Hello Ric

I understood that if a check box is available and checked in C20,
inserting a row below or above row 20 creates, in the new row, a checked checkbox.
Same behavior if we insert a column to the left or to the right of column C.

On my machines I get this behavior which is the designed one.

This time, we met an user which don't like that the new line reproduce the existing one but, if Apple made the choice to build the row with unchecked boxes, we would encounter user complaining because it doesn't reproduce the existing one. Two ways where possible, Apple choose one, PERIOD

Yvan KOENIG (from FRANCE lundi 22 septembre 2008 10:40:17)

I get the same behavior as described by Yvan. Since the goal is a group of unchecked boxes, all I can suggest is a second step:

Select all the newly created cells formatted as checkboxes & in the Cells Inspector, click the "Unchecked" radio button. This at least saves one the effort of removing the check marks from the cells one at a time.

KOENIG Yvan wrote:
Two ways where possible, Apple choose one, PERIOD

Actually, a third possibility would be a user preference or modifier key to cause newly created rows not to inherit the values of their neighbors. If the O.P. thinks that would be useful, feedback could be sent to Apple requesting that in a future version of the application.

Personally, I doubt that enough users would find it useful enough to justify adding it to the feature set, but one never knows.

If I understang well, the OP is not asking for a blank row but for a row where the box will be unchecked even if the preceeding row contains checked boxes.

If we want to be able to insert blank rows, the feature already exists.
Keep a blank row at the bottom of the table.
If you want to insert a "pre-filled" row select the laste filled one and apply "Insert a row below"
If you want to insert a blank row, select the existing blank one and apply "Insert a row above".

Yvan KOENIG (from FRANCE lundi 22 septembre 2008 11:25:40)

Earlier I wrote:
I get the same behavior as described by Yvan.

I have just noticed that this inheritance of the checked or unchecked value in the new row occurs _only if_ the the entire column is formatted as checkboxes. If any cell in the column is formatted as something else, the new row inherits the format of its predecessor row, but when that is the checkbox format, the new cell's checkbox is unchecked.

IOW, the format of the predecessor row is always inherited, but the checkbox value is inherited if & only if the entire column (less any header column) is formatted as checkboxes.

I assume this explains why Ric Donato got different results.

Here, if cells F1 thru F13 contain checked checkboxes, selecting row 13 and inserting a row above or below inserts a row with an _unchecked checkbox_ .

Yvan KOENIG (from FRANCE lundi 22 septembre 2008 13:24:16)

I don't understand. In an earlier post, you said:

I understood that if a check box is available and checked in C20, inserting a row below or above row 20 creates, in the new row, a checked checkbox.

Your current comment seems to contradict that.

What I get is as I described: the checked/unchecked value is inherited if & only if the entire column is formatted as checkboxes. If not, only the checkbox format is inherited & the new value is always unchecked, regardless of the value of the "parent" cell's checkbox.

This occurs whether or not I use the 'insert a row above/below' popup menu items from the arrow that appears when the cursor is hovered over a row label, drag the tab at the bottom right of the table downward to create one or multiple new rows, or with any other method I know of to create new row(s).

R C-R wrote:

I understood that if a check box is available and checked in C20, inserting a row below or above row 20 creates, in the new row, a checked checkbox.

Your current comment seems to contradict that.

It just prove that I understood wrongly the OP's message 😟



Yvan KOENIG (from FRANCE lundi 22 septembre 2008 15:15:15)

Hi Yvan and R C-R,
When I did my original post I didn't format the entire column as checkboxes. My thought process was, "why would a user format an entire column as such, surely they'd have something at the bottom for a calculation of the checkbox results". For my testing I formated a number of rows, not all, as checkboxes that's why my results were different than both of yours. My thinking wasn't enough in depth for the OP scenario.

When the entire column is formated as checkboxes, check a box then insert a row (above or below), this inserted new row checkbox is checked.

Having X number of cells formated as checkboxes, not entire column, then insert (above or below) another row, this inserted new row checkbox is uncheck.

For me when I want it unchecked I uncheck it, when I want it checked I check it; this checked unchecked is a non issue. However, when one has inserted many rows it would be an issue.

Cordially,
RicD

Ric Donato wrote:
For me when I want it unchecked I uncheck it, when I want it checked I check it; this checked unchecked is a non issue. However, when one has inserted many rows it would be an issue.

As I mentioned, if many rows are involved, selecting all of their cells with (& only with) the checkbox format allows one to globally change them to unchecked (or checked) status using the Cells Inspector's two radio buttons.

I suppose this could also be useful in any other situation in which one wants to change the value of a large group of checkboxes at once.

Hi R C-R,
Highlight the group of checkbox cells, contiguous or noncontiguous then: Cell inspector > Cell Format > Checkbox, choose Checked or Unchecked—those steps should have been include.

My comment "However, when one has inserted many rows it would be an issue." was that a person would then have to make that adjustment, not that it's difficult. Yes I should have put included the above steps, also been more exacting with my comment.

Cordially,
RicD

No worries, Ric. I just wanted to make sure the alternative was well understood.

Frankly, the difficulty of clearly explaining the conditions for which each behavior occurs became for me a challenge that I was determined not to let defeat me. I hope I have succeeded, at least well enough that others understand it.