11 Spreadsheets with Numbers
With Numbers you can create data spreadsheets, perform calculations, and create forms and charts.
Numbers is a versatile program that enables you to create the most boring table of numbers ever (feel free to try for the world record on that one) or an elegant chart that illustrates a point like no paragraph of text ever could.
Creating a New Spreadsheet
The way you manage documents in Numbers is exactly the same as you do in Pages, so if you need a refresher, refer to Chapter 10, “Writing with Pages.” Let’s jump right in to creating a simple spreadsheet.
Totaling Columns
One of the most basic formula types is a sum. In the previous example, for instance, you might want to total each column.
Averaging Columns
We lucked out a bit with the sum function because it has its own button. But what about the other hundreds of functions? Let’s start with something simple like column averages.
Performing Calculations
So far we have seen two simple formulas. Let’s see what else you can do with one of hundreds of different functions and the standard mathematical symbols.
Formatting Tables
Let’s move away from calculations to design. You have many formatting options to make your spreadsheets pretty.
Creating Forms
Forms are an alternative way to enter data in a spreadsheet. A form contains many pages, each page representing a row in a table. Let’s continue with the previous example and use it to make a form.
Its Not All Good
Creating Charts
Representing numbers visually is one of the primary functions of a modern spreadsheet program. With Numbers, you can create bar, line, and pie charts, and many variations of each.
Using Multiple Tables
The primary way Numbers differs from spreadsheet programs such as Excel is that Numbers emphasizes page design. A Numbers sheet is not meant to contain just one grid of numbers. In Numbers you can use multiple tables.
