how do I multiply contents of 2 columns ?

Assuming you mean multiply a cell in column A to a cell in column B of the same row:

C2=A2*B2

select C2 and fill down (by grabbing , click and hold, the little control circle at the bottom right of the selected cell), then drag straight down

Hi Martin,

You wrote:

"I tried that massive document and could not find any reference to multification or multiplying numbers, for a mac software it is not the usual ease of use"

Ummm... "that massive document" has a grand total of 249 pages, including the Front end and Table of Contents (10 pages) and Index (5 pages).

Not that you really need to pore over every one of those pages to "find any reference to multification (sic) or multiplying numbers." The whole document is searchable. Here's the result of one such search (for "multiply"):

Numbers will show the page containing the first result on the left. Usually, if your search word is in the table of contents, the first result is a Table of Contents page; click on the result in the TOC, and you're taken to the page containing that article.

In this case there was a single result, so the guide went straight to the article containing "multiply", The Arithmetic Operators, on page 127. (The page number may be different in your edition, as I think there has been an update since I last downloaded the guide.)

Regards,

Barry

Jim,

I understand your frustration and at the same time you must recognize your own ignorance (no harm intended here). The "*" has been used for multiply since the before the 80's (and probably before that). The help is never good enough and I havefound myself exaperated with software when it seemed too hard to get started.

the arithmetic operators are listed in the help document:

You can use arithmetic operators to perform arithmetic operations in formulas.

There is a learning curve for everything. You would have had the same problem with MSExcel, or any other speadsheet for database where you wanted to multiply.

Spotlight on MacOS X will evaluation mathematical operations but would disappoint you as well since the multiply operator is the "*":

I hope you will kepp posting questions here as you will find that there are plenty of people here willing to help.

Best regards,

Wayne

Hi Jim,

We were all beginners/newbies once. For some of us, that was last week, or perhaps this morning, for others it was years, or even decades ago.

One thing I learned early on was to read.

Not just glance at and shrug (or complain), but to actually read.

Searching Multiply in Numbers Help brought up two articles, one a Help Topic on The Arithmetic Operators, showing a Numbers icon beside the title, the other a Support Article on Alpha channel issues in Motion 5.

Easy enough to determine which was significant to my search.

Inside the Numbers related article was the table below (from which you quoted a single line). Here it is again, with an added element inserted to draw attention to what I think you may have missed:

Placing the circled part in front of "A2 * B2 returns 40" may make things more clear.

If not, then a similar reading of the previous two lines and the one that follows:

'If A2 contains 20 and B2 contains 2, the formula... A2 + B2 returns 22"

'If A2 contains 20 and B2 contains 2, the formula... A2 - B2 returns 18"

'If A2 contains 20 and B2 contains 2, the formula... A2 / B2 returns 10"

...might shed some light on the use of the multiplication operator and a formula using that operator.

If not, then using the Send Feedback link on that page to send a clarification request to Apple would seem a more logical action than posting what's essentially a rant in this user-to-user forum.

This is,after all a user-to-user forum. Its focus is "How can I...", not "What's wrong with (or what's right with) Apple.

Need assistance with the first type of question? This is the place to post.

Want to complain to/about Apple, or request an enhancement to Apple hardware or software (or support materials)? Nobody here has control over that. Talk directly to Apple through the Feedback channel.

Regards,

Barry

Hi Tim,

I am using Numbers 09 on a MacBook Pro (Mountain Lion).

I entered 9 into A2. Then in B2 I entered the formula =A2 and it showed 9.

I formatted Cell C2 as Text, entered the same formula =A2 and found that it displayed "=A2" as you did.

The answer is to format Cell C2 as Number or Automatic.

Perhaps that cell or column was imported from Excel as Text format.

Thank you for your feedback. We live and learn from each other.

Regards,

Ian.

might i suggest reading the iWork Numbers Users Guide, available through the help menu on your program. All of this is covered in detail and would alleviate much of your frustration, and save you lots of time in the future.

Jason

Congrats on getting an answer, but why should we even have to ASK the question?

Numbers is supposed to be the easy Mac solution, and true, it's nowhere as opaque as Excel, but I DARE any newbie to try and figure out how to do the simple calc A*B=C.

The designers of the program either live in a universe where they think this knowledge is so basic that folks are born with it, or perhaps they live in a universe where multiplying two values isn't probably the SECOND most used function after SUM. So why isn't in the quick formula panel right after SUM? Why isn't it at the TOP of some quick-start guide readily available at any time?

In the Numbers Help menu which appears to be the same as the manual, you type 'multiply' and it returns: "Multiply two values | * (asterix) | A2*B2 returns 40." Yeah, duh. So how does that relate to Numbers? What is a beginner supposed to do with that stunningly informative "help"?

Apple also has a half dozen help videos on their website that introduce the basics. They tell you how to add, how to make everything pretty, how to create the all-important charts, but nowhere is mentioned how to do A*B=C.

This program should be as easy as using the Mac calculator. Why why why do I (and apparently so many others, if you fo a Google search) have to waste so much figuring out this most basic function, why do we need to go on such an Easter egg hunt to find a simple step-by-step answer!?

Apple, PLEASE address this shortcoming!

Exasperating!

I agree totally that what for some is intuitive may not be for others.

I have a simple question. I'm no stranger to spreadsheets but don't use them frequently and when I do it's for very basic needs.

I recently imported data from an Excel file inserted a column next to one I want to work with and when I do the simple "=A2" all I get is "=A2".

I'm not literally using the " " so why isn't the formula being executed?

I bring this up in this forum only because I've tried searching for an answer on google and apple with no solutions found and to illustrate how frustrating this is.

I have other Numbers spreadsheets with lots of formulas that work.

Hi Tim, Jim, and anyone else,

Numbers on Mac (and Excel on Windows) uses this logic:

Click on a cell:

That means: "Hey, you!"

Type = and a formula, such as A2*B2

That means: "Do this!" (make your value equal to the content of Cell A2 multiplied by the content of Cell B2).

In summary,

Point and click: "Hey, you!"

Enter a formula: "Do this!"

Regards,

Ian.

Thanks for the reply but if you read my post it is exactly what I am doing with results that display the original formula as though it were text.

To be clear, if cell A2 contains the number 9

when I enter =A2 in another cell for example, it displays A2, literally.

I have other spreadsheets with formulas that work. This one does not.

It's that simple.

I'm using Numbers 08 on a MacMini late 2012 with Mountain Lion up to date.

Am I missing some formatting requirement?

I tried creating new columns in case it had something to do with how the file was created as an import from Excel but no difference.

Hi Tim,

It's probably me but I find Apple software often times to be the least intuitive.

Having spent many enforced years under Windows, I can say that Windows is the least intuitive. The only unintuitive part is when we have to convert Excel to Numbers, or Word to Pages. Once we make that step, Mac is just so easy.

Ian.

Message was edited by: Yellowbox

the notation C2=A2*B2

means

in cell C2 type "=A2*B2"

leave out the double quotes