I'm having an issue restablish the links between the cell refrences and table names functions etc

Hi Badunit,

Thank you for the clarification. Your explanation makes sense now.

When I mentioned Notepad, I actually meant Pages, as it generally preserves the formatting when you paste it back, provided you don't modify it in Pages. Let me give your suggestion a try, as I had assumed it wasn't going to work because I didn't see the colored ovals and all, and I thought it wouldn't pick up the references from the outside tables as a result. Let me hit enter and reopen the cell to see if the references are restored when I reopen it.

And yes, the snippet I provided was just a partial section of the formula.

Thanks again for the help!

Best,

Stvylife

Hi Badunit,

Thanks for your response.

I wanted to point out that the "eye candy" formatting is actually quite significant. It shows that Numbers has validated the references. If Numbers recognizes a formula, it formats it accordingly, which is a helpful feature.

I didn't post the entire formula initially because part of it contains sensitive information.

However, I tried to recreate the issue and, in doing so, solved the mystery. It was challenging to recreate the flattened text, but it appears that Apple Numbers has a helper that keeps track of references—somewhat like tracking folders in a directory. When you are in the right directory, your sublinks work, but this is just a theory for now.

Here's how I fixed the issue: I pasted a formula from the same table into a new paragraph within Pages. First, I returned the new formula, and it worked. Then, I copied the problematic formula, and Numbers recognized it and linked everything in all its complexity. I didn't add or remove anything.

So, I'm pleased to report that this solution worked, thanks to the suspicion that prompted further investigation. Fresh formulas always work, and it's quite interesting.

I appreciate the attention given to this matter.

Best regards,

Stvylife

Hi Ian,

Thank you for your response.

However, I believe my initial point may have been missed. When you double-click on any function or command in the formula input, it will automatically turn to text. Additionally, if you copy your function into an external editor and then paste it back, it will also turn into text.

The issue isn't with the cell formatting. I could redo it, but this time, I have a larger function that references multiple tables, making it more challenging to reconstruct.

In Microsoft Excel, you can reconstruct the formula by simply putting an equal sign before the text in the cell input. I am wondering if anyone has found a way to toggle back a collapsed text in Numbers.

Thanks again,

Stvylife

PS. this is what a snippet looks like

CONCATENATE('Table 1-2-1'::AJ$3,'Table 1-2-1'::AI$4,'Table 1-2-1'::AH$4),CONCATENATE('Table 1-2-1'::AJ$1,'Table 1-2-1'::AE$4,'Table 1-2-1'::AD$3),CONCATENATE('Table 1-2-1'::T8,'Table 1-2-1'::S8,'Table

Normally it would look something like this

Hi Badunit,

Thank you for the clarification. Sadly, the method you suggested didn’t recover the formatting, and hence it lost the references. It appears that Apple Numbers doesn't always reconstruct the linkage, most likely due to the compound nature of the procedure.

I should have saved the formula and then modified it later, rather than holding off. In any case, thanks for your help and insights.

Best regards,

Stvylife

Hello Badunit

Thanks for your input. It seems like my point might have been misunderstood. The issue isn't with the validity of the formula itself; the function was fine.

I didn't save the function as I typed it out. Instead, I copied it into a scratch pad to modify it later. When I pasted it back into Numbers, I noticed it had lost the references. The formula is valid—I’ve done this many times before. My question was more about whether anyone had found a remedy to restore the references once they’re lost.

It appears that Apple Numbers prefers for you to build the procedure within the editor. Is that correct? Can you type a procedure outside of Numbers and paste it back in? Additionally, even with a valid compound procedure, is there anything that can mess it up? I believe the answer is yes! Simply double-click on any of the functions or commands, and it will flatten.

Here's another example: If I type in a cell reference like A1 directly in the cell editor, Numbers recognizes it as a local reference. For a global reference, you need to type the table name or click the table to link it. However, if you draft in Notepad and paste it in, it doesn't recognize that reference. Excel, on the other hand, is able to handle this.

So, has anyone found a way to toggle back a collapsed text in Numbers?

Thanks again for your help.

Best,

Stvylife

Hi Camelot,

Thank you for your response. You're absolutely right; for simpler formulas, the links usually bounce back when pasted into Numbers. However, I noticed that when dealing with more complex procedures, the references are often abandoned.

I've found that Pages generally preserves the references, provided you don't modify the content within Pages. It seems the links are temporarily retained in memory, but they can lose their references if not handled carefully. With one or two functions, it usually works fine, but table names can be tricky.

It's unfortunate that Numbers can't always recover these references. I'll just have to be more mindful going forward and ensure to back up important steps to save time.

Thanks for your insights!

Best regards,

Stvylife