In Numbers, how can you copy the value from a cell in Table 1 to a cell in Table 2? The two cells must be linked so that when the value changes in Table 1 it changes in Table 2 as well.
Thanks,
Striped Trousers
iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.5)
Striped Trousers,
To reference Cell A1 in Table 1 from another table, we write:
=Table 1 :: A1
and so forth.
There's a very nice PDF User guide for Numbers that you can download via the Help menu that covers this and many other helpful topics.
Jerry
Striped Trousers,
To reference Cell A1 in Table 1 from another table, we write:
=Table 1 :: A1
and so forth.
There's a very nice PDF User guide for Numbers that you can download via the Help menu that covers this and many other helpful topics.
Jerry
Striped,
the easiest way (in my opinion) is to...
1) in the destination cell (the one where you want the value to be copied to) type the "=", then
e.g.:
2) locate the cell (in the same table, a different table, a cell in a table on another sheet), then click the source cell.
e.g.:
notice the value of the cell I clicked is "0" (zero)
3) then type the <return> key
e.g.:
notice the value in this cell is the same as the table it references (zero)
Striped,
You can combine docs into a single doc (to allow referencing) but kep segmented by useing separate sheets).
You can also provide feedback to Apple by using the menu item "Number > Provide Numbers Feedback"
Thanks for your response. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it work. This was more likely down to my incompetence rather than your suggestion. In the destination cell in Table 2 I wrote "=Table 1 :: A1" (obviously using the filename of the spreadsheet, rather than 'Table 1', and the correct correct coordinate of the source cell). I used every conceivable variation of your formula as far as spaces and only a single colon, etc. The destination cell gets a red triangle which, when clicked, gives one of two warnings. Either "Table 1" is not a valid reference or the cell itself is not a valid reference.
Also, I could find no reference to this issue in the User Guide, which I had consulting before putting this question out there. This is one area where a Microsoft product, Excel, is much better than its Apple equivalent.
Your response, and the time taken, is much appreciated.
Thanks,
Striped Trousers.
Trousers,
Download and read the Numbers09 User Guide. The information you seek is in a section called: "Referring to Cells in Formulas" and it begins on page 126 of the English edition. There's a link to the guide in the Help menu.
Jerry
T,
Another approach is to use the point and click method and learn from the references that are placed automatically.
Let's say that you want to reference cell A1 in a table called Data. Type and equal sign, then click on cell A1 in the table Data. The cell that you typed the equal sign in will not display the value that it finds in Data :: A1, and the content of the cell formula will be: =Data :: A1.
Jerry
No luck with this, either. In fact, this is what I first tried because it is how you'd do this in Excel.
I am working on a simple home budget/expense sheet. I want to get December 2012's closing bank balance to appear as January 2013's opening bank balance. I select the correct cell in Jan 2013 and enter an = sign. Then I flip over to the 2012 budget sheet and select the cell with December's closing balance. Nothing happens.
After your first response, and again just now, I tried typing the link to the 2012 sheet in the 'opening bank balance' cell in 2013's sheet like this: "=2012 Budget :: Y51". Y51 being the cell that shows the closing balance of Dec 2012 and 2012 Budget being the filename of the spreadsheet. The error message is "Y51 is not a valid reference".
I hate to take up more of your time but appreciate your efforts. No one else has responded.
Thanks,
ST.
Striped Trousers wrote:
No luck with this, either. In fact, this is what I first tried because it is how you'd do this in Excel.
I am working on a simple home budget/expense sheet. I want to get December 2012's closing bank balance to appear as January 2013's opening bank balance. I select the correct cell in Jan 2013 and enter an = sign. Then I flip over to the 2012 budget sheet and select the cell with December's closing balance. Nothing happens.
After your first response, and again just now, I tried typing the link to the 2012 sheet in the 'opening bank balance' cell in 2013's sheet like this: "=2012 Budget :: Y51". Y51 being the cell that shows the closing balance of Dec 2012 and 2012 Budget being the filename of the spreadsheet. The error message is "Y51 is not a valid reference".
I hate to take up more of your time but appreciate your efforts. No one else has responded.
Thanks,
ST.
ST,
You can't reference a cell in a different file. The farthest away your target can be is to be on a different Sheet in the same file/document. Is this were the confusion lies? If so, just Select and Copy the value in the previous year's ending balance and Paste it into the new year's starting balance. Once a year isn't too often to have to do this manual operation.
Jerry
Yes, Jerry, this is what I was attempting to do and I am surprised that Numbers doesn't allow this (you can 'link' cells in different files in Excel). I was beginning to realize this after your last message. I followed your instructions linking cells in the same sheet, and then linking cells in different sheets of the same file. Both worked a treat but as soon as I tried this with a different file, it wouldn't work.
This is something for Apple to work on I guess.
In the meantime, I will enter the value manually and get on with my life! My thanks again for your continued efforts to help.
Happy New Year!
ST.
Hi, Wayne,
Thanks for your response but this doesn't appear to work across different files in Numbers. You can link different files in Excel but it seems that you cannot link further than different sheets in the same file in Numbers. Too bad:something for Apple to work on, I guess.
Happy New Year!
ST.
Striped Trousers wrote:
Yes, Jerry, this is what I was attempting to do and I am surprised that Numbers doesn't allow this (you can 'link' cells in different files in Excel). I was beginning to realize this after your last message. I followed your instructions linking cells in the same sheet, and then linking cells in different sheets of the same file. Both worked a treat but as soon as I tried this with a different file, it wouldn't work.
This is something for Apple to work on I guess.
In the meantime, I will enter the value manually and get on with my life! My thanks again for your continued efforts to help.
Happy New Year!
ST.
ST,
Linking between documents can be a can of worms, and is certainly not something that we could label as a basic requirement of a spreadsheet program. In your case, especially, it's probably best practice to isolate the years and not have the documents dependent on one another. Numbers has some nifty features, but it's not the 2-pound Swiss Army knife app that Excel is. There certainly are times when linking between documents would be handy, such as when different aspects of a project are in separate documents and need to be summarized. This would only be the case if the overall project size was very large, or if the project was divided up between different users.
There are many more urgent needs, if the iWork team has time on their hands, such as improving the speed and capacity of the apps.
Glad you are on your way.
Jerry
Numbers: linking cells in different tables
