Add and edit table cell content

You can add content to a table in several ways. You can type new content, copy and paste content from somewhere else, or let Pages complete patterns for you with autofill.

As you type, Pages shows a list of previous entries that you can choose from to speed up data entry. If you don’t want to see the autocomplete list, you can turn it off in Pages preferences.

Select cells

  • Select a cell: Click it.

  • Select a range of cells: Click a cell, then drag a selection handle (a white dot) any direction to encompass the range of cells you want to select.

  • Select discontiguous cells: Click a cell, then Command-click, any other cells.

Edit cell content

If the cell is empty, click it and begin typing. If the cell has content in it, do any of the following:

  • Replace content: Click the cell, then start typing. The existing content is overwritten.

  • Edit content: Double-click the cell to make the insertion point appear. To move the insertion point, click where you want it, then type.

  • Delete all content: Click the cell, then press Delete.

As you type in a cell, Pages shows a list of autocomplete suggestions. This list includes any text previously entered in that column, but not header or footer text. Press Tab to use a suggestion in the cell. To turn off autocomplete, choose Pages > Preferences (from the Pages menu at the top of your computer screen), tap General, then deselect “Show suggestions when editing table cells” in the Editing section.

Clear data from table cells

  • Select cells, then press Delete.

    Deleting removes the content from the cells but preserves the cells’ data format, text style, and cell style.

    To remove all data, formatting, and styling, select the cells, then choose Edit > Clear All (from the Edit menu at the top of your computer screen).

Autofill cells

You can quickly add the content from selected cells to adjacent cells without typing it. You can also fill a row or column with a logical sequence of data, for example, a series of digits, dates, or letters.

  • Do any of the following:

    • Autofill the content from one or more cells into adjacent cells: Select the cells with the content you want to copy, then move the pointer over a border of the selection until a yellow autofill handle appears. Drag the handle over the cells where you want to add the content.

      Any data, cell format, formula, cell border, or fill associated with the selected cells is added, but comments aren’t. Autofilling overwrites existing data with the value you’re adding.

    • Autofill sequential content or patterns into adjacent cells: Type the first two items in the series in the first two body cells of the row or column you want to fill; for example, type A and B. Select the cells, move the pointer over a border of the selection until a yellow autofill handle appears, then drag the handle over the cells you want to fill.

      You can also autofill cells using a pattern of values. For example, if two selected cells contain 1 and 4, the values 7 and 10 are added when you drag over the adjacent two cells (values are incremented by 3).

Autofilling doesn’t set up an ongoing relationship among cells in the group. After autofilling, you can change the cells independently of each other.

When you autofill cells, any formulas that refer to those cells are updated automatically to use the new value.

Show and hide text autocomplete

  1. Choose Pages > Preferences (from the Pages menu at the top of your computer screen), then click General.

  2. Deselect the “Show suggestions when editing table cells” checkbox to turn off autocomplete, or select the checkbox to turn it on.

Copy and paste cells

When you copy a cell, or move a cell’s data to a new location in the table, all of the cell’s properties are also copied or moved, including its data format, fill, border, and comments.

  1. Select the cells you want to copy or move.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • Move the data: Click and hold until the cells appear to lift, then drag the cells to another location in the table. Existing data is replaced by the new data.

    • Paste and overwrite existing content: Choose Edit > Copy (from the Edit menu at the top of your computer screen). Select the top-left cell where you want to paste the data, then choose Edit > Paste.

      If the data range contains formulas, choose Paste Formula Results.

    • Paste without overwriting: Choose Edit > Copy, select the destination cells, then choose Insert > Copied Rows or Insert > Copied Columns (from the Insert menu at the top of your computer screen). New rows or columns are added for the copied cells.

    • Paste a cell style: Choose Format > Copy Style (from the Format menu at the top of your computer screen). Select the cells where you want to copy the style, then choose Format > Paste Style.

    • Paste cell contents without its style: Choose Edit > Copy, select the cells where you want to paste, then choose Edit > Paste and Match Style (from the Edit menu at the top of your computer screen). The pasted cells adopt the formatting of the new location.

    • Paste outside of an existing table: Drag the cells where you want them. A new table is created with the pasted cells.

Highlight a cell’s row and column

You can temporarily highlight a cell’s row and column in blue as you move the pointer over a table. In a large table, this can help you identify column and row references for specific cells.

  • Press the Option key while you move the pointer over a cell.