Automatically copy specific column data to new rows in a table

Question

Automatically copy specific column data to new rows in a table

i've created a table that lets me change a pdf into a csv, but the only columns that change on subsequent rows is the item, item#, qty, and cost. The first three columns don't change for each pdf (company, invoice, date). Currently, after i finish adding all the items, i copy the first three cells of the first row, then select them in all subsequent rows and paste (i discovered autofilling was a pain, it would increment and i don't want that).

Is there any way to mark the first three columns so that their contents copy into new rows? One of the columns (item#) gets its data from the previous column (item, a dropdown), but that's the only thing that copies to the new row. Is it that only formulae can be auto-copied when new rows are created?

Thank you!

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 26.6

Posted on Sep 6, 2026 2:46 PM

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Answer 1

Camelot

Level 9

61,323 points

Sep 6, 2026 5:01 PM in response to Elizabeth Hostetter

Numbers uses some internal heuristics to determine what to auto-fill when adding rows (or columns) to existing tables.

Unfortunately the rules are not well (at all?) documented. If all the cells in the column are the same or are clearly sequential it usually extends them, but if there's no clear pattern Numbers just leaves it blank.

If you previously filled the column using autofill, or by dragging down the column, that goes a long way to hinting to Numbers to extend the column, but that's not likely to be something you've done on newly-imported data.

Therefore I think you're largely out of luck when it comes to teaching (tricking?) Numbers into recognizing these columns as extended if there's no obvious pattern.

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