Working with Numbers in Table Cells
Some table operations, such as formulas and functions that perform mathematical
operations, depend on cells containing numeric values.
Here are techniques for working with numbers in table cells:
In a numeric cell use only numbers (0 through 9) or one of the following characters:
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plus sign (+), minus sign (–), left or right parenthesis ( ), forward slash (/), currency
symbol (for example, $), percent sign (%), period (.), capital E, or lowercase e.
You can type some characters (such as %) into a cell, or you can use a cell format, as
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“Formatting Table Cell Values for Display” on page 89 describes.
To specify a negative number, precede it with the minus sign (–).
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When you put a number in a table cell that’s too large to display, Numbers converts
the number:
When a decimal number doesn’t fit in a cell, the number is rounded. For example,
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1.77777777777777777777 becomes 1.77777777777778.
When a whole number doesn’t fit in a cell, the number is displayed using scientific
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notation. For example, 77777777777777777777 becomes 7.777778E+19.
Scientific notation displays numbers using an exponent raised by the power of 10.
The exponent is displayed following the E.
If the converted number still doesn’t fit, it’s clipped. See “Displaying Content Too Large
for Its Table Cell” on page 82 for suggestions.
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Chapter 4
Working with Table Cells
Chapter 4
Working with Table Cells
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Instructions for using formulas and functions in table cells are in “Creating Your Own
Formulas” on page 121.