How can I get Numbers 3.2 to recognise 1e-5 as scientific notation?

if, after setting the cell format to scientific, I type "1.5e-3", it automatically formats the cell as text and I can't get it to recognise it as scientific notation.

I can't duplicate the problem here, either when the cells are formatted as Automatic or as Scientific:

When you type 1.5e-3 are you making sure not to enter a space after the e? (When I type a space the cell automatically formats as Text.)

SG

Saskia,

Close everything and Restart the computer. If you still have that behavior, all I can say is that you may have one of those 'Language Specific" bugs. You don't say where you reside, and your English is good, but never-the-less this sort of thing happens so frequently in non-English settings that I suspect it may be the case.

If so, Send Feedback to Apple from the Numbers menu and call the problem a localization-related bug. If you have an Apple Retail Store nearby, show them the problem at the Genius Bar.

Jerry

Just a thought, but have you checked to make sure you don't happen to have some sort of substitution that makes Numbers interpret what you're typing as text? You could try testing whether that might be the problem by turning substitutions off (via the Edit menu):

SG