Delete cell in numbers

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Level 1

4 points

Delete cell in numbers

This is probably a dumb question… How do you delete a single cell in numbers? I am talking about the cell itself not about the contents.

Thanks!

iMac 27″

Posted on Apr 19, 2023 8:27 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

D.I. Johnson

Level 7

22,409 points

Apr 19, 2023 9:00 PM in response to mpugarte

mpugarte wrote:

You’re telling me that there is STILL no way to delete a single cell?

Yes.

There is a work around that may or may not work well for you; Grab all the cells to the right of it (or below it) and drag them left/up one cell.

Select all the cells to the right of the one you want to delete
Click and hold on one of those cells and they will all "lift" from the table
Drag them over one cell and drop them

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Answer 2

Badunit

Level 7

26,566 points

Apr 20, 2023 6:27 PM in response to mpugarte

I am assuming you meant "table" when you said "chart". It sounds like your spreadsheet is designed like in Excel. An Excel worksheet is monolithic; it is one huge grid of cells and you might have several unrelated "tables" sharing the same rows or columns, maybe separated by a few rows or columns. In Numbers, a sheet is a blank canvas on which you can have multiple smaller independent tables. In Numbers, deleting columns or rows from one table has no effect on the others.

You can split up your two (or more) tables using the same lift-drag-drop method given above for moving cells.

Select the columns that make up one of your "tables" (click on the leftmost column letter of that "table" then shift click on the rightmost one).
Click and hold on one of those column letters and the columns will lift out of the table.
Drag and drop them on a clear spot on the sheet to make a separate new table from them.

If your "tables" are separated vertically (they share the same columns), it is the same basic thing except you click on the row numbers. Or you can select any range of cells and drag them off to be a new table.

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Answer 3

Apr 19, 2023 8:36 PM in response to mpugarte

A single cell cannot be deleted.

You must delete the row or the column.

You can delete the contents of a cell.

Please see: Numbers User Guide for Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 4

mpugarte Author

Level 1

4 points

Apr 20, 2023 10:27 AM in response to SGIII

Actually, I need to delete about 10 cells. I have 2 charts, one next to the other. If I delete the whole row, it will delete the row on the other chart. If I cut and paste, I end up with formatting at the very bottom that I do not want. I’m gonna have to do this several times depending on the data that I get.

I saw a thread from 2011 where people were asking the same question. That is 12 years ago!… This is a simple function that really should be available in numbers. I find it hard to believe that ‘till this day this issue has not been fixed. If I have to do this over and over and over again, the work around creates a lot more work than just being able to delete a single cell or a specific group of cells.

I’m a hard-core Apple person. From the first iPod, all my iPhones, to the iMacs in my studio, to my laptop, and HD. But I think this is an area where Apple is falling short.

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Answer 5

mpugarte Author

Level 1

4 points

Apr 20, 2023 10:32 AM in response to D.I. Johnson

Thank you but that really doesn’t solve my problem as I explained below. I am trying to get rid of that particular space vertically having one chart next to the other. Doing that leaves me with formatting at the bottom that I do not want, and when you have to do that over and over again, it is not only tedious, but is very time consuming.

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Answer 6

SGIII

Level 8

35,462 points

Apr 20, 2023 5:36 PM in response to mpugarte

mpugarte wrote:

Actually, I need to delete about 10 cells. I have 2 charts, one next to the other. If I delete the whole row, it will delete the row on the other chart. If I cut and paste, I end up with formatting at the very bottom that I do not want. I’m gonna have to do this several times depending on the data that I get.

Ok, so you think you need to "delete" multiple cells (not just one as in your original post) and you have 2 charts based on the same table (no charts were mentioned in your original post)? It's a little hard to picture what you are trying to do and why you are doing it that way.

Could you post a screenshot? shift-command-4, select area with cross-hairs, release, start new post here and use the "mountains-and-moon" Image insertion icon beneath the composed window to insert the image from the Desktop.

One strong feature of the the Numbers design is that (unlike in Excel) you can easily have multiple tables on the same sheet. You can then base one chart on one table and another chart on another table, all on the same sheet, and you can make changes in one table without affecting the the other table and chart.

SG