How do I link cells to specific choices from a drop down menu in Numbers for ipad

Question

How do I link cells to specific choices from a drop down menu in Numbers for ipad

For example, if I made a spreadsheet for nutrition and I had a drop down list that contained certain fruit (apple, orange, banana). Let's say I chose "apple", how would I get the rest of the fields to auto-populate with nutritional information for an apple like calories, sugars, fat, etc.

i would have a separate sheet done up with all of this info, and with the appropriate fruit as the "header", but is there a way that I can link the drop down options in the first sheet with their respective info, and they would just populate in the first sheet?

iPad mini 2 Wi-Fi, Cellular, iOS 8.4

Posted on Aug 5, 2015 9:28 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 6, 2015 5:41 AM in response to Therealmahoney

Your best bet is to use Vlookup

http://help.apple.com/functions/mac/5.0/#ffa5997050

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Answer 2

t quinn

Level 5

7,043 points

Aug 6, 2015 8:01 AM in response to Therealmahoney

Hi Therealmahoney,

Just plain LOOKUP() will work well for you. LOOKUP() will settle for a close match so each item in your popup needs to be in your lookup table.

I did this on my Mac so your view will be a little different. this formula can be filled across and down.

LOOKUP() is very useful if you want to return a value given a range. i.e. between 1-3 "good", between 3-5 "ok", etc..

quinn

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Answer 3

Aug 11, 2015 9:54 AM in response to t quinn

Thanks, I'll try this out (still teaching myself how to use all of the formulas).

I'll let you know if it does what I need it to!

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Answer 4

t quinn

Level 5

7,043 points

Aug 11, 2015 10:01 AM in response to Therealmahoney

Hi Therealmahoney,

I find that building formulas by tapping on the elements is much easier than typing.

I should have mentioned that once you have the formula working in B2 (in my example) you can fill it down and then fill across to bring the rest of the info over.

quinn

ps is it "There alma honey" or "the real mahoney"? You have one of those ids taht shift on me.

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Answer 5

Aug 19, 2015 11:54 PM in response to t quinn

Its "the real Mahoney". So LOOKUP worked, but I also had to add in MATCH to make the sheet work for me.

thanks for the help!

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Answer 6

t quinn

Level 5

7,043 points

Aug 20, 2015 6:34 AM in response to Therealmahoney

Hi Therealmahoney,

Glad you sorted it out, Whar did your formula end up looking like? Just curious.

quinn

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Answer 7

Aug 20, 2015 8:07 AM in response to t quinn

AActually I meant to say "VLOOKUP worked for me". My formula was actually for NHL teams and it ended up going like this.

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