Consecutive Numbering and Current Date

Question

I am trying to create an invoice (that I will save as a template) and I want the invoice number to change, each time I open the invoice template, to the next consecutive number. I also want the date to stay current each time I open the document. Can anyone help? Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

MATOS-3802 wrote:
Thanks for the reply. I am neither familiar with computer lingo nor am I very computer savvy, so a lot of that is really confusing to me. Is there a plain English "numbers for dummies" way of going about it? Thanks again.
Hi MATOS,
Fortunately you don't need to understand most of it in order to use it.
As a user, you need only understand:
Open the Script Editor.
Copy Yvan's script from his post, then Paste it into the Script editor.
Then read this part (assuming your English is stronger than your French). The numbers labeling the sections are used in my notes below:
Section 1A:
+++++++
Save this script as Script : invoiceWithDateAndnumber.scpt
Move the newly created file into the folder:
<startup Volume>:Users:<yourAccount>:Library:Scripts:Applications:Numbers:
Note 1
Maybe you would have to create the folder Numbers and even the folder Applications by yourself.
Section 1B
menu Scripts > Numbers > invoiceWithDateAndnumber
will create a new document from the defined user template
and insert a new number and the current date as a fixed value.
Section 2
--=====
The Finder's Help explains:
To make the Script menu appear:
Open the AppleScript utility located in Applications/AppleScript.
Select the "Show Script Menu in menu bar" checkbox.
Section 3
--=====
Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France)
2010/06/05
Section 4
--=====
property theApp : "Numbers"
Adapter ces six “properties” à vos besoins
Adjust these six properties to fit your needs
property myTemplate : "my_invoice.nmbtemplate"
property fichierNum : "the_number.txt"
property mySheet : "1"
property myTable : "1"
property cell4number : "A1"
property cell4date : "A2"
--=====
Section 4 is the beginning of the actual script. You will need to edit the properties list to fit your own situation.
The first property "theApp" names the application (Numbers) that the script affects. Do not change this.
Below the line "Adjust these...":
myTemplate:
Change "my_invoice.nmbtemplate" to match the name of your Invoice template, and add the ".nmbtemplate" extension to the name.
fichierNum:
This is the name of the file that keeps the most recent invoice number. The script will create the file the first time the script is run, and will update it each tome after that. No change is needed in this line.
mySheet:
myTable:
These are currently set to use the first (ie. top of the list) Table on the first sheet of your invoice template. If the template contains only one table (and only one sheet) no change is needed. If your template contains more than one table, you may need adjust the number(s).
cell4number:
This is the cell in which the Invoice Number will be placed. Change "A1" to the actual location of the Invoice Number on your template. Remember to enclose the location in double quotes.
cell4date:
This is the cell in which the current date will be placed. Change "A2" to the actual location of the Invoice Date on your template. Remember to enclose the location in double quotes.
In Section 1, Note 1 tells you you will need a specific set of folders in which to place the script.
In the Finder, open a new window and click on yourAccount (the house icon with your username below it), then on Library, then on Scripts, then on Applications, then on Numbers.
Each time you click, it opens the folder and shows (in the next column, if your Finder window is in Column view) the items in that folder. If any of the names on this path are missing, you will need to go to the File menu, choose New Folder, and give the new folder the name shown above. (If you have not yet added any scripts, you will likely need to create at least the Applications and Numbers folders.)
Section 1A tells what to do with the script after you have edited it: Save it in the Numbers folder you created above. You can save it to the Desktop, then move it to the correct folder, or you could save it directly to the correct folder. Yvan's name is chosen to tell exactly what the script does.
Section 1B tells how to call the script (ie. how to get it to do what it's written to do):
go to the Scripts Menu, choose Numbers, then choose "invoiceWithDateAndnumber",
then describes what the script does.
The Scripts menu is likely not yet in your Menu bar, so Section 2 tells how to get it there. If you, like me, have a crowded Menu bar already, you may also have to remove something else to make room for the Scripts menu.
Section 3 tells who wrote the script (Yvan) and when he did so.
Once you've completed those steps (editing properties and saving the script to the correct location), creating a new dated and numbered invoice is a simple matter of choosing this script in the Scripts menu.
Regards,
Barry