Indent Problem when using a simple formula

Hi Drew,

If your result is more than one line's worth in the cell, do all the lines need to indent, or just the first one?

If all lines need to be indented, use Text Inspector, Inset Margin. This will give you a margin on all four sides, but you may be able to work with that.

If you only need to indent the first line, you can concatenate Option-Tab with your result.

The form would be: =" Option-Tab"&C5 where you enter the quote, press Option-Tab, enter another quote, enter the ampersand, enter the cell reference.

Regards,

Jerry

Message was edited by: Jerrold Green1

Drew,

Sorry about the typo that resulted in some really bad grammar in the first case I described. I corrected it, I think.

It's difficult for me to suggest a good workaround not knowing any more than I do about your context.

I'd appreciate it if you would tell Apple what you would like to see added to the program by using the Feedback link in the Numbers menu. I too would like to see the text formatting tools of a decent text editor added to Numbers, and I've told them so. The more they hear it, the more likely they will work on it.

Jerry

How about this:
Turn on text bullets. Set the bullet color to white. Then the indents in that section will work. I notice that the color square in the inspector doesn't reflect the change (a bug in the interface) but the bullet will turn white and your text will be indented.

It appears that the other Indent Level is only applicable to cells formatted as text. You can't format this cell as text or it will display the formula. I think this needs a bit more thought by Apple.

Drew,

Well, to you it's basic. To some users here, it's advanced to use the = sign and make a formula. It's relative. From making lists to solving complex expressions. But I digress...

What's the trick? (As I recall that was your question.) The trick is to View, Show Rulers. Type some text into your cell that eventually is going to receive the expression that references the source cell. Now format the margins and indent, on the ruler, for that cell. Next delete the text content that you used for setting up the layout. Now enter your expression. The format will be retained from your earlier ruler settings, and your expression's result will inherit that format. Furthermore, if you want to use that format in other cells, use the Copy and Paste Styles couplet.

Jerry

That's a new one for me. Guess I should re-read the user's manual and see what else is available that I have never used.

I noticed one strangeness in use of the ruler margins. If the cell contains a number, date, duration or has a formula that results in anything but text, the margins will only work if you also choose left justified or full justified. If there is ever the possibility that the result will be interpreted as something other than text, it is best to left or full justify the cell. Or if you want to ensure a formula such as =B2 results in text (even if B2 contains a number) , it should be written as =B2&"".

Badunit wrote:
That's a new one for me. Guess I should re-read the user's manual and see what else is available that I have never used.

Good luck with that 🙂 , I truly just poked around until I discovered the trick. My cursory review of the rulers and text formatting in the Guide didn't uncover any guidance on formatting calculated results. I you find anything, please pass it along. I see this issue as a fertile field for improvement of the guide and the user experience.

I agree that using Left Justification is the best bet. Anything else is tempting conflict with the ruler. The thing that makes this more difficult to execute is that you must do your ruler adjustments on another cell and then copy the style over, or you must temporarily replace the calculated result with literal content while making adjustments.

Thanks for helping to explore this one.

Jerry

Drew,

To make style copying easier, go to View, Customize Toolbar and Drag the Copy Style and Paste Style icons to your Numbers Toolbar.

Good luck,

Jerry