iWork '09: The Missing Manual

Reorganize: Sort, Filter, Categorize

It doesn’t matter how tangled, disordered, or generally cluttered your spreadsheet data might be. Numbers can give you an instant makeover. On your command, Numbers sweeps in to sort your table rows into any order you like, filtering out irrelevant data along the way, and categorizing your data neatly by column values to let you quickly focus on the information that matters most.

This luxury means that you don’t have to give any particular thought to the specific order of your data as you enter it. Just get your info into the table willy-nilly and, once it’s in there, let Numbers sift and sort it for you. Not only is Numbers an adept organizer, it’s also a great reorganizer. You’re not stuck with any single view of your data; you can sort it this way and then that way, or filter out certain data and then bring it back to focus on a new area.

Numbers lets you sort, filter, and categorize your table rows from a single control panel—named, appropriately enough, the Reorganize window (Figure 19-7). To open this titan of tidiness, select the table to edit and click the toolbar’s Reorganize button. (Don’t be put off if you think this button looks like a boozy martini glass; Numbers is more clear-headed than that. The funnel icon is meant to convey the point that Numbers will filter and focus your data.)

Tip

When you have more than one table in your spreadsheet, you use the same Reorganize window to work with all of them. Select the table to edit, and the ...