Hi, I want to insert a thousands separator, a comma, in a number, but checking the Numbers Inspector won't work.How do I get the comma in a number to work? Thanks. Mel
MacBook Air (11-inch Late 2010), OS X Mountain Lion
If your system is set to a language where a comma is the thousands separator, and the value in the cell is a number, it should work. An extraneous, non-numeric character (like the space in the word "Won't" in your topic above) could be turning the value to text.
If your system is set to a language where a comma is the thousands separator, and the value in the cell is a number, it should work. An extraneous, non-numeric character (like the space in the word "Won't" in your topic above) could be turning the value to text.
Can you post a screenshot of your table where the thousands seprator won't work?
Hi, I checked System Preferences and found that I'm set for English and the comma appears in the Numbers area. On further checking, I tried again to get the thousands separator and this time I selected the entire column in my table. I was surprised to see the comma miraculously appear where it should. But also, where it wasn't supposed to in the same column. In the column, in random cells, I entered the year 2013 as a date. By selecting the entire column, the year 2013 turned into 2,013.00. So, I guess my new problem is: how to I keep the thousands separator in the entire column without changing these random 2013 cells? I hope you have a thought how to do this. Best regards, Mel
Thanks for helping me. I left a new message on Jeff Shenk's reply to me. Would you please take a look at it and offer your insight. Best wishes, Mel
Mel,
Numbers cannot tell that the number "2013" is a date. If you formatted it as a date it is (from the point of view of Numbers) NOT a valid date but is only a number. If you want to enter a date enter such that the contents is unambiguously a date.
"2013" is ambiguous
"1/2013" will be translated by Numbers to "January 1, 2013"
Hi, Wayne, Your thoughts about numbers vs. text just pointed me to a solution. Since I'm not intending to add up the entire column of numbers (only small subsets under each individual year in the column), I could change the year 2013 in the Inspector to Text, which would always keep the year intact as a descriptor, not a number. Now I have the best of both worlds: years within the column as organizers, plus the Thousands Separator for numbers in the same column. Thanks for your help in getting me over this Numbers hurdle. Best regards, Mel
Why Won 't The Thousands Separator Work In Numbers?
