Tip: Undocumented Keyboard Shortcut, Plus a Documentation Error in Apple iWork Numbers ’08

by Michael on August 22, 2007

Hello everyone, just a quick post tonight, since I am up to my ears trying to deal with Numbers time formats. I’m working on a time sheet template, and the thing is giving me fits. I suppose I should be thankful for all the posting material this is giving me.

Anyway, I picked up tonight’s tip from the Apple Numbers Discussion Forums. There seems to be an undocumented keyboard shortcut: Option-Return. This allows you to quickly edit an existing formula in a cell. I find it to be roughly equivalent to the F2 shortcut in Excel.

You can also use Option-Return to insert a hard break when editing text in a cell (this is in the documentation).

I found this in posts from both Mathias Rempe and JaxJason, I’m not sure who found it first. Regardless, good job guys.

******

While we are on the subject of keyboard shortcuts, I found an error in the documentation that is accessible from Help > Keyboard Shortcuts.

The documentation reads:

Stop editing cell and select cell  –> Command-Return

— then later —

Stop editing cells and select the table –> Command-Return

The second option is correct, the first option should read:

Stop editing cell and select cell –>Â Escape

If you combine this with our undocumented shortcut, you will be able to move into and out of cells quickly.

{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }

jaxjason August 29, 2007 at 9:56 am

Thnks for the credit. Never thought I would see my ‘name’ on other websites. Cool.

I suggest anyone wanting to learn more about any of apple’s programs or OSX itself, take a gander in the support discussions, even if you don’t have a specific question, you willalways learn something. I do every day I look.

Thanks again,

Jason

Michael August 29, 2007 at 10:06 am

jaxjason,

Thank you for sharing your time and experience on the Apple board!

I find useful information there all the time, and try to give it a little wider audience through this site (of course giving credit where it is due).

Keep up the good work!

- Michael

Anthony September 7, 2007 at 3:00 am

So how’s the time sheet template coming along? Is it project-based?

Michael September 7, 2007 at 10:19 am

Anthony,

How’s the time sheet coming? Slow!

Numbers has some strange ways of dealing with time, that are just straight forward in Excel. I think I know how to fix it, but I was sidetracked by other projects. I hope to get a credit card math template out today, then a mortgage refinance calculator on Saturday. After those are finished, that time sheet is next in the cue.

The time sheet, as it currently exists, is just a simple weekly table with a break for lunch. I don’t have a problem with doing multiple versions, so if you have something in Excel, or a link to what you are looking for, e-mail it to me at contact [at] numberstemplates.com

- Michael

damonk258 June 28, 2008 at 6:17 am

Thanks for the tip. I was going nuts trying to figure this out. I was F2 all the time in Excel at work and this ‘unpublished’ shortcut really helps.

Dylan February 17, 2009 at 12:26 pm

Just want to add my thanks for this shortcut—the lack of F2 support was driving me nuts. This is close enough, though I wish, instead of selecting all text in the cell, it would default to placing the cursor at the end.

Mariano July 16, 2009 at 10:52 am

Thanks a lot! was driving me nuts as well =D

Anthony August 8, 2009 at 4:12 am

Hi, Michael, did you ever finish this template?

Carl May 19, 2010 at 6:53 am

awesome! thanks.

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