Mirror Two Tables in Apple Numbers

Question

Mirror Two Tables in Apple Numbers

Hello! Looking for a pro-tip here:

I need to create a table that dynamically pulls exact data from another table. Luckily, no additional columns will be added but there is a chance additional rows will be.

Description:

There is a large table of data people are adding to and keeping up to date. Call this table 1.
I need another table on another tab that can pull that data (for reporting purposes). Call this table 2.
Table 2 needs to be pulling all the data from table 1 dynamically and be able to flex around the addition of either new rows being added or rows being moved/sorted/etc..

Challenge:

When I do a typical cell pull, the data is getting out of order (ex: =TABLE1:A2)

Question:

What is a more stable/accurate way to mirror another table on another tab?

Many thanks!

Posted on Jan 17, 2025 10:39 AM

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Answer 1

SGIII

Level 8

37,550 points

Jan 20, 2025 6:58 PM in response to AnotherUserNameHere

Can you be more specific about your needs?

"Mirror" implies you want an exact copy of your table. (That of course is easy, just = and refer to the original cell. But in general it does not follow best practices of keeping like data in one place and not duplicating it and scattering it across different parts a document.)

Pull data for "reporting purposes" suggests that you want to pull subsets and summary statistics from your data.

If the latter is your goal then spreadsheet software like Numbers provides powerful tools to help you.

I highly recommend having a look at Pivot Tables.

They leave the original data untouched (including in its original order) but allow you to pull out various summaries.

Intro to pivot tables in Numbers on Mac - Apple Support

Filters also do not change the order of original data. You can apply them and then turn them off when you want to see your original data again.

Filter data in Numbers on Mac - Apple Support

SG

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Answer 2

SGIII

Level 8

37,550 points

Jan 20, 2025 7:15 PM in response to AnotherUserNameHere

A further thought. If you need to print out things or produce a pdf for reporting purposes then keep in mind that you can easily duplicate a sheet by going up to the tab at the top and choosing Duplicate from the dropdown.

Then fix up the report as needed without changing the original, and send.

But I recommend continuing to do your work in the original sheet. Wherever possible avoid keeping the same data in different places.

SG

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