Multiple lines within a cell

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Level 1

5 points

Multiple lines within a cell

I am preparing a membership list from raw data. In the address column, I want the address to appear on up to three lines: 1234 Oak Street
Apt 521
Anytown, ID 50505.
I haven't found a way to do it. Apple's suggested work around is to type the addresses in Pages and then cut and paste. There has got to be a better way or else it's back to Excel.

G4 iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Dec 14, 2009 9:41 AM

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Answer 1

KOENIG Yvan

Level 8

41,819 points

Dec 14, 2009 10:02 AM in response to skeezix 1

skeezix 1 wrote:
I haven't found a way to do it. Apple's suggested work around is to type the addresses in Pages and then cut and paste.

Who suggested such an oddity for Apple ?

Those who took time to look at "Keyboard shortcuts" in the Help menu know that we may insert a linebreak in a cell with *_ctrl + return_*.

Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France) lundi 14 décembre 2009 19:02:07

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Answer 2

skeezix 1 Author

Level 1

5 points

Dec 14, 2009 10:56 AM in response to KOENIG Yvan

The oddity was suggested during a phone call to Apple.
I have tried ctrl + return and shift + return without success.
i have visited Excel which reminded me that what I want is "wrap text." How did the guy at Apple miss that.

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Answer 3

Dec 14, 2009 1:10 PM in response to skeezix 1

If you want to do this under program control, you can use the function CHAR(8232).

For instance, if you wanted to combine the contents of column B with column C, with a line feed in between, you would write: =B&CHAR(8232)&C

Remember to increase the height of the row so that you can see both lines in the result.

Jerry

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Answer 4

Dec 14, 2009 1:20 PM in response to John H

I believe that you are correct. I was addressing the case, which I think might be of interest to the OP, where the data is not being entered from the keyboard, but rather from a preexisting file. He wasn't clear on his method, so I thought I'd throw in another option.

Jerry

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Answer 5

KOENIG Yvan

Level 8

41,819 points

Dec 15, 2009 2:51 AM in response to Jerrold Green1

When I type a string in a cell, I insert linebreak with _ctrl + return_
When the cell was filled by a paste task, I must use _alt + enter_ (the one from the numeric pad)
So, I guess that on a keyboard with no numeric keypad, the soluce would be _fn + alt + return_

Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France) mardi 15 décembre 2009 11:51:10

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Answer 6

KOENIG Yvan

Level 8

41,819 points

Dec 15, 2009 8:29 AM in response to Jerrold Green1

It inserts a linebreak here on my two machines.

Maybe it's a feature dedicated to French localization.

Of course, *alt + enter* inserts also a linebreak but, I don't know why my first attempt is always *ctrl + enter*.

Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France) mardi 15 décembre 2009 17:28:50

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Answer 7

KOENIG Yvan

Level 8

41,819 points

Dec 14, 2009 11:53 AM in response to skeezix 1

"wrap text" is fine but the user doesn't rule the way datas are cut in lines.

Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France) lundi 14 décembre 2009 20:52:51

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Answer 8

John H

Level 3

859 points

Dec 14, 2009 1:13 PM in response to Jerrold Green1

I thought option+return allowed line breaks

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Answer 9

Badunit

Level 7

30,456 points

Dec 14, 2009 7:31 PM in response to skeezix 1

Apparently that person at Apple doesn't know Numbers very well. Next time you have a question, I'd recommend asking here first.

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Answer 10

Badunit

Level 7

30,456 points

Dec 15, 2009 7:20 AM in response to KOENIG Yvan

Ctrl+return doesn't do it for me. For me it is like hitting return except that it doesn't move to the next cell . Option+return or option+enter both work for a linefeed.

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Answer 11

Dec 15, 2009 7:23 AM in response to Badunit

Same here.

Jerry

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