Working with Text in Table Cells
You can control the format and alignment of text in table cells, and you can use find-
and-replace and spell-checking features.
When you type text into a cell, Numbers displays text that might be used to complete
the cell content based on similar text elsewhere in the table. You can use the
suggested text if it’s appropriate, or you can keep typing to override suggestions. To
disable auto-suggestions, deselect “Show auto-completion list in table columns” in the
General pane of Numbers preferences.
Here are techniques for working with text in table cells:
To insert a line break, press Option-Return.
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To insert a paragraph break, if “Return key moves to next cell” below Table Options in
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the Table inspector isn’t selected, press Return. Otherwise, press Option-Return.
You can also click in the formula bar and click the line break button in the format bar.
To insert a tab in a table, press Option-Tab.
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You can also click in the formula bar and click the tab button in the format bar.
To adjust text alignment, use the alignment buttons in the format bar.
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Align text to the left, center, right; justify text; or
align text to the left and numbers to the right.
Align text to the top, middle,
or bottom of cells.
The Text inspector gives you additional text formatting options (click Inspector in the
toolbar and click the Text inspector button).
See “Setting Text Alignment, Spacing, and Color” on page 172 for more information.
To control font attributes, use the text formatting buttons in the format bar.
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Choose a font.
Choose a typeface.
Choose the font size.
Choose the text color.
You can also use the Fonts window (click Fonts in the toolbar).
See “Formatting Text Size and Appearance” on page 165 for additional information.
To check spelling, follow the instructions in “
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Checking for Misspelled Words” on
page 190.
To find and optionally replace text in cells, follow the instructions in “
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Searching for and
Replacing Text” on page 192.
To avoid having Numbers interpret what you type as a number, use the text format.
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See “Using the Text Format in Table Cells” on page 99 for details.
Note: Text strings are ignored in functions that use values to perform calculations.