How can I hide the row numbers and column letters (A, B, C etc) in Numbers? I have my own column names and rows (in this case dates). It just makes the sheet look more messy. I can click the circle in the top left corner with "command", and the numbers and letters vanish, but they're back as soon as click on a cell. Headers and footers are at "0". Do I need a new template? I could do this in Excel.
Numbers is designed to show the row ans column reference tabs when a table is the 'active' table. The table becomes 'active' when you select any cell or the table itself.
The action you describe, command-click, is a system wide instruction to add the clicked item to or remove the clicked item from an existing selection. In this case, where the Table is the single item in the selection, a command-click on the circle toggles that item to 'not selected.'
You can also deselect the table (and all other selected objects) by clicking any 'empty' point on the sheet.
'Headers' and 'Footers' in the context of your comment above refers to Header Rows, Footer Rows, and Header Columns,
These are rows with several properties not shared with regular 'body rows'. Most significant or most useful are that Header rows and columns can be 'frozen' to make them remain visible while any part of the body of the table is still visible, and that cells in Header rows and Footer rows are excluded from 'whole column' range references in many functions, making it possible, for example, to use SUM(B) in a formula placed in a Header or Footer row of column B.
Getting back to the 'problem' of row and column reference tabs popping into view whenever the table is active, I agree that can be a distraction when the table is active only because someone is entering data in a column recognized by it's name in the column header (or in similar circumstances). There's currently no user control available to make that happen, so no one in this user-to-user community is likely to be able to offer a solution.
You can, though, Provide Numbers Feedback, using the menu item of that name, found in the Numbers menu, to make a Feature Enhancement request.
Regards,
Barry
Thanks very much for thorough answer, Barry. I made the feature enhancement request. I understand the feature's usefulness in some situations. For me, it is a distraction (which one can disable in Excel preferences). But I'll survive.
I find it a useful feature when editing formulas in Numbers tables, and a feature that provides a sleek look to tables that are simply displaying data or the results of calculations, But I agree with your view that these numbers and letters distract from, rather than add to productivity when the user is 'using' (rather than 'constructing' or 'trouble shooting' the document.
Regards,
Barry
In Excel, you just uncheck the box "show headers and footers" in Preferences
Removing column letters and row numbers
