In the new Numbers, where did autofill drop down menus go and how do I get them back?

And it looks as if we will get "auto-complete text in cells" back within the next six months.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT6049

SG

Well done! This is awesome, thanks Smirhcfa!

This was extremely helpful. Thanks!

Lack of Auto-fill is a huge loss in Numbers 3.0. The loss of this and the inability to drag and drop OFX files into my Bank Account spreadsheet has made it useless for me. I have to continue to use Numbers '09. However, there is a useful change to Numbers 3.0 which some people may find useful as an alternative to auto-fill.

The Cell Format option 'Drop-down Menu' is now more useful. You can create a list in a table, in my case I can select the list that I use for auto-fill and then select Cell Data Format; Pop-up Menu and the list becomes the content of the Pop-up Menu. You can now select any one of these re-formatted cells, set the content to None and copy and paste it to your category list or whatever. Fill down and you now have a column of cells that have a Pop+up Menu containing your original list. You can make as many unique Pop-up Menus as you want.

there is a useful change to Numbers 3.0 which some people may find useful as an alternative to auto-fill.

The new Pop-Up Menu I think is better than auto-complete in most situations, especially for those using Numbers on iOS as well. Fewer chances for errors to creep into data. See this thread and this thread for more details on how to use Pop-Up Menu.

OFX import I am guessing is too much of a niche feature to have much chance of being reintroduced, though one never knows. There are OFX to CSV converters available but they seem to be geared toward Windows. Numbers 2.3 could be used as the converter, of course, with the results easily pasted into Numbers 3.

SG

SGIII, Thanks for the links.

With regard to OFX; OFX is an intelligent file type. One can just drag the file (downloaded from one's bank, etc.) to the prepared table in Numbers '09 and it drops the data at the bottom of the table, in the appropriate columns. This is essential for multiple data tables for various banks, credit cards, etc. The CSV files (which can also be downloaded from one's bank, are 'dumb' data files. If you drag them onto a table in Numbers the data is just placed at the cell location that one drops the file.

If Apple wants its so called 'productivity' applications to be taken seriously it needs to enhance them not dumb them down!

The implementation of OFX import (I understand OFX is a flavor of XLM) sounds pretty nifty in Numbers '09. I'm guessing, though, that only a small subset of Numbers users frequently use Numbers as a full-fledged personal finance application instead of usng Quicken, Mint, etc. That may be the reason the OFX import feature, however nicely implemented, didn't make the cut (so far) in Numbers 3.

Engineering often involves difficult tradeoffs. One person's essential feature is another person's bloat. Some users don't own an iOS device and only care about how an application runs on a Mac. I happen to prefer a streamlined application stripped of expensive-to-develop, nice-but-not-necessary niche features and their associated quirks that make it hard to get the application to work reliably on iOS as well.

Apple can't keep us all happy. But now that more than half their business is iOS-based probably we're going to continue to see continued efforts to make a smaller set of features in their productivity apps work reliably on that platform as well as the Mac. That's not necessary a "dumbing down." It can be a powerful combination.

SG

Joy! The latest Numbers update brings back autofill. Update and rejoice.

Hi Ian,

That worked. Than you very much.

Ruperto