Using Numbers, but can't figure out how to insert cells into a table without adding a whole row. Excel does that but does Numbers?

No. But neither does Excel, although that's the way it's described.

When you insert a 'cell' in Excel, what you are actually doing is moving the content of that cell, and all cells below it down a row, and if necessary, adding a row at the bottom of the table. If you were actually 'inserting a cell'. it would push all those below it down a row, and the end result would be a table with a single cell sticking out at the bottom, where it had been pushed by the insertion of a cell somewhere above it.
So far, I've not seen such a table in Excel.

You can do essentially the same thing in Numbers. Hare's a small example:

Starting with the table below, we want to 'insert an empty cell' in position B2, moving the rest of the cells in column B downward. What we actually do is:

Make room for the content of the cells in column B, then move that content down a row.

Here's the table as it starts out:

To open a space in B2, we need to move the five values in column B down one row. But first we need to create a space into which to move that data. Click on any cell, then drag the Row Control handle (lower left) down until a new row appears.

Now select the cells whose content is to be moved (shown above). With the five cells selected, click and hold on B2, the drag down until the mouse pointer is in cell B3. Release the mouse button for the result shown below:

For move 'moving' cells, see the article Copying and Moving Cells in Chapter 4, Working with Table Cells, in the Numbers '09 User Guide. You may download the guide via the help menu in Numbers.

Regards,

Barry

Actually Barry, excel does allow you to insert a single cell into a table, and it asks if you would like to insert the row or column of data up or down. It assumes you know your about to break the data integrity of your table. It's only really useful in excel because you have multiple tables on a single sheet. And you might have to insert a row into one of those tables, without affecting the other tables on the sheet.

On numbers since everything is in its own tables, this shouldn't be an issue.

Jason

"Actually Barry, excel does allow you to insert a single cell into a table, and it asks if you would like to insert the row or column of data up or down."

Matter of semantics, Jason.I'd still interpret Excel's action as moving the content of the cells up or down and emptying the selected cell. The closest thing to Excel on my iBook is NeoOffice, which provides the Insert > Cells... menu item, but offers only down and right as directions in which to push the affected cells (or the affected data, depending on your interpretation of what's happening).

As the underlying grid of cells is 'infinite',and there is always room for the pushed data in one of the 'empty' rows below the part of that grid being used for the table, the question of whether Neo/Excel is 'inserting a cell' or 'pushing the data down' is moot.

What happens in Excel if the indicated cell on the table below is selected, and the user chooses to Insert one cell, and to Shift cells up? Specifically, what happens to the data (21) in cells D1, E1 and F1?

Regards,

Barry

Barry,

I agree that Excel just makes it seem that a hole is being created, when what actually happens is just what we have to do in Numbers. I once counted keystrokes and there wasn't much difference between Excel and Numbers by that measure. Here's my workflow for inserting a cell...

• Click on the cell where the new cell is going to be.
• Shift-click on the last significant cell in the column (or row)
• Shift-Command-X (Edit > Mark for Move)
• Down-Arrow (or Right-Arrow) one time to select the cell just below (or right of) the one where the new cell goes.
• Shift-Command-V (Edit > Move).

There is no need to manually make room for the shifted data. Numbers always makes room for pasted content by expanding the table automatically.

I much prefer this method to the mouse drag, perhaps because my nerves aren't as steady as they once where.

Jerry

Here is my situation.

In Excel, If you right click the mouse, a drop down menu gives the option of inserting cell/shift cells up/down, as well as left/right.

I have a row of text. I want to insert a blank cell into the row, shifting the cells with existing cells to the right, or left, allowing additional text to be inserted into the newly created blank cell in the row. Make sense?

Thanks All, for your insights and tips n tricks.

In Kindness,

Margie

Hi Margie,

See Jerry's suggested workflow in the post just before yours.

Regards,

Barry

Hi Barry,

Many thanks for your response. I did.

"There is no need to manually make room for the shifted data. Numbers always makes room for pasted content by expanding the table automatically."

It doesn't. Or, at least it did not for me. It Replaced the text in the cell.

Perhaps this is due to using an imported Excel spreadsheet, versus a spreadsheet originally created in Numbers?

In Kindness,

Margie

Margie,

If you had data overridden, you may not have understood the instructions because what you described won't happen if the procedure is followed properly.

Jerry

Jerry,

Many thanks for the quick response.

First, are the instructions given based on a 'virgin' Numbers spreadsheet? Will your instructions work with an imported Excel spreadsheet?

Second, your instructions imply the cell will be inserted at the end of a row. Is this correct?

Finally, do All the steps outlined in your instructions, need to be used, every time a cell is inserted into a row...regardless of its position in the row?

Always in Kindness,

Margie

HI Margie,

I don't have a convenient 'native' Excel spreadsheet to try this on, but I did construct a small document in NeoOffice, and save it in MS Excel format. Here are the results, using that document, opened in Numbers:

Original imported document, Table 1:

NeoOffice's default spreadsheets include three tabs, sheet 1, sheet 2 and sheet 3. The imported file contained this table (on Sheet 1) and two additional Sheets, each with an empty Table 1 matching this in size. I chose to ignore these after looking at them.

Exercise 1: Clicked on B5, Shift-click on F5, pressed shift-command-X, pressed right arrow once, pressed shift-command-V.

Result:

Exercise 2: Clicked on cell C5 (now containing the string "B5"), shift-click on C10, pressed shift-command-X, pressed down arrow once, pressed shift-command-V.

Result:

Both exercises appear to give the expected results.

Regards,

Barry

profmargie wrote:

Jerry,

Many thanks for the quick response.

First, are the instructions given based on a 'virgin' Numbers spreadsheet? Will your instructions work with an imported Excel spreadsheet?

Second, your instructions imply the cell will be inserted at the end of a row. Is this correct?

Finally, do All the steps outlined in your instructions, need to be used, every time a cell is inserted into a row...regardless of its position in the row?

Always in Kindness,

Margie

Margie,

I see no reason that my instructions would fail with an imported file. My procedure simply moves a partial row or column out of the way of the cell where you wish to add content. This is exaclty what Excel does, but with some better "automation".

I both Excel and Numbers you begin by Selecting the cell where you wish to add content.

Then Excel asks you whether you wish to move cells out of the way downward or to the right. In Numbers, you do the move yourself using the Mark for Move and Move commends.

Jerry

Jerry,

Thanks for the key words...Move, and Mark for Move!

Which leaves one last question. Can your instructions be implemented, using just the Mouse?

Thanks for all your time and knowledge, both are truly appreciated.

In Kindness,

Margie

Barry,

Whew! You spent a great deal of time helping me with a spreadsheet...thanks!

I just need to unlearn Excel, and learn Numbers...learning curve 101 🙂

Thanks, Barry for all your time and knowledge; Both are truly appreciated.

In Kindness,

Margie

profmargie wrote:

Jerry,

Thanks for the key words...Move, and Mark for Move!

Which leaves one last question. Can your instructions be implemented, using just the Mouse?

Thanks for all your time and knowledge, both are truly appreciated.

In Kindness,

Margie

Margie,

Yes, all that can be done without the keyboard, even without menus. Select the range that needs to move out of the way, grab it by its border, drag down, or over, one cell and let it drop.

Jerry

As profmargie wrote on September 17th, "need to unlearn Excel, and learn Numbers...learning curve 101" The unlearning is the hard part.

In Excel you can select the cells you want move

hover the cursor on the edge of the selected range (cursor changes to a hand), shift-click and drag to new location. A horizontal or vertical grey bar indicates where the selected range will be inserted.

Release mouse button and the selected range is inserted. The existing contet will move left, right, up, down depending on relation between the original location and new location.

Going from the above to having to move existing content out of the way first then moving the desired content is one the many "little things" that make me say to myself, "Why am I trying to stick with Numbers?"