iWork '09: The Missing Manual

Working with Table Objects

In Numbers, tables are objects, just as they are in Pages and Keynote. If you’ve already made your way through the rest of this book, objects are already old friends. They’re the building blocks of every iWork document, the design elements that you slide across the page—or in this case, the sheet canvas—to create your layout. In Numbers, tables are the main focus, and you may frequently have spreadsheets where a single table is your one and only object. But no matter how many or few you pile into your document, you have to know how to select and edit these guys in order to work on your spreadsheet.

Note

You’ll learn more about working with other types of Numbers objects—pictures, text boxes, shapes, movies, and sounds—in Chapter 23, hot on the heels of a whole chapter on chart objects in Chapter 22.

Selecting a table object tells Numbers that you’re ready to edit it, but what part exactly? Tables have many different elements (rows, columns, cells, the data inside, even the borders between cells), and you can select any of them individually. Selecting the table at these different levels lets you edit the table in different ways, but blocks you from editing it in others. Understanding how to select a table and its parts—and move quickly among them—is the first step to becoming a fleet-footed spreadsheet jockey.

Adding a Table

First things first: You need to have a table before you can select it. Whenever you create a new spreadsheet document, Numbers already ...