I have a very long list of items
some of them are duplicates.
There are all in one collumn.
In excel there is a funciton that
allows me to highlight cells that
are duplicates.
Is there an equivalent way to do
that in Numbers?
macbook, Mac OS X (10.6.4)
Yeg,
You can easily program a little duplilcate check, but no, there's no automatic duplicate finder.
Add a column. Let's assume that your data is in column B. In your new column, write the expression:
=COUNTIF(B, B)
Couldn't be easier. Then format the data in the new column to highlight results greater than 1. Like this:
Regards,
Jerry
too bad theres no way to do it without
adding a new collumn
There is, I think, but it's much more tedious, and I haven't thought through the process or tried building it.
Adding a new column is pretty simple. So is deleting that column when you're done with it.
Regards,
Barry
yegyan wrote:
too bad theres no way to do it without
adding a new collumn
yy,
The entire process of creating the example and posting it here took a couple of minutes. Less time, I'm sure, than it would take me to figure out how to find duplicates in Excel if I was still an Excel user. It's what you plan to do with the information on duplicates that will take the bulk of the time, I think.
Step by step (for column B):
Click on a cell in the data column
Type Option-RightArrow to create a new column next to column B
Type =COUNTIF(B,B) in the new column, just opposite the first data in column B
Select the cell with the equation you just typed and type Command-C
Shift-Click the last cell in the new column
Command-V
That business may take 30 seconds.
If you wish to format the backgtround fill option, go immediately to the Cells Inspector and click on Conditional Format and enter the condition and formatting options.
That's another 30 seconds if you are familiar with the process.
The theme with this and many other situations where Excel features are lacking in Numbers is that Numbers is a much leaner application than Excel. It's a different product, not a clone. There are a few painful gaps and differences and many unique advantages in Numbers. It's best to remain flexible. If Excel suits you better, use it.
Jerry
Jerrold, if I was familiar with the process I would not be asking. That's the reason I asked in the first place.
Yegyan,
Do you feel that you have an answer that works for you now?
Jerry
How do I highlight or color duplicates in a very long list?
