Number 08 Fill Down and Fill Right Greyed Out

Have you selected a range for the Fill operation? With no cell selected, or with only one cell selected, Numbers can't guess what you want to do, so the feature is not available.

Jerry

rousdon wrote:
Jerry

Thanks for that, but your solution has raised another problem. For example when I am entering several invoices that have been paid on the same day, 18th August 2010 and I select fill down, instead of 18th August 2010 I get 19 August 2010. How to I get the fill down to fill exactly what is in the original cell and not what Numbers thinks I want.

Rod,

In that case you don't want to use Fill, but rather Copy/Paste. Fill will give you a Series, Copy and Paste will give you copies. Copy the first date value, Paste to the entire Selection in one operation.

Jerry

rousdon wrote:
(W)hen I am entering several invoices that have been paid on the same day, 18th August 2010 and I select fill down, instead of 18th August 2010 I get 19 August 2010. How to I get the fill down to fill exactly what is in the original cell and not what Numbers thinks I want.

Here's another tactic. Note that I've placed in in column B. The formula appears not to work in a Header column.

Enter the initial date in B2.

In B3, enter

=B2

Select B2 and the rest of the cells below it in column B.

All cells from B3 to the bottom of the column will now show the date in B2.

To change dates, click on the first cell in B that you want to change and enter the new date.

All cells below that one will change to the new date.



Enhancement:

In B3, enter =IF(LEN(C3)>0,B2,"")

Proceed as above.

Cells in column B will remain 'empty' until something is entered in column C, then will pick up the date from the row above. Change dates as previously described.



NOTE:
Other than the first instance of each new date, all dates are created by formulas and MAY be affected by sorting the table. You may want to add this routine to the end of each day:

Select and Copy the dates of today's invoices (or all dates up to the end of today).
Go Edit > Paste Values.

This replaces all of the formulas up to the end of "today" with the Date they calculated.

Regards,
Barry

If you enter the same date in the first two rows, then filling down will fill all with the same date. Otherwise, Numbers is being "helpful" giving the oft-requested increase.