Numbers09: editing formulas/blank cells

Question

I tried to have a look trough all the topics on this forum, but it is impossible.
These questions have probably been treated already, but I didin't find the answers:
1) when editing formulas and refering to the same cells several time in this formula, I can't click on it a second, third .. time. I can click once on it, then i have to highlight it, copy it, and paste it in the rest of formula; here is an example:
=SI(D4=" ";"0";E4F4*H4SI(D4="Cèdre CAT 1";Marché du Bois :: B7;SI(D4="Cèdre CAT 2";Marché du Bois :: G7;SI(D4="Cèdre CAT 3";Marché du Bois :: L7;SI(D4="Iroko";Marché du Bois :: B8;SI(D4="Bois Rouge";Marché du Bois :: B9;SI(D4="Bois Blanc";Marché du Bois :: B10;"0")))))))
Here, D4 is set the first time by clicking on the cell, and after that, I have to copy and paste it to use it again.
Why is that ?. Why can't I just click on the reference cell as many time as needed ?.
2)How do i make the formula understand that a cell remains blank (no space, no 0, .. nothing) under conditions ? And then, using this "blank" cell in a sum, as a "0" value in the sum ?.
Thanks.

Answer 1

Lionnel2n wrote:
I tried to have a look trough all the topics on this forum, but it is impossible.
These questions have probably been treated already, but I didin't find the answers:
1) when editing formulas and refering to the same cells several time in this formula, I can't click on it a second, third .. time. I can click once on it, then i have to highlight it, copy it, and paste it in the rest of formula; here is an example:
=SI(D4=" ";"0";E4F4*H4SI(D4="Cèdre CAT 1";Marché du Bois :: B7;SI(D4="Cèdre CAT 2";Marché du Bois :: G7;SI(D4="Cèdre CAT 3";Marché du Bois :: L7;SI(D4="Iroko";Marché du Bois :: B8;SI(D4="Bois Rouge";Marché du Bois :: B9;SI(D4="Bois Blanc";Marché du Bois :: B10;"0")))))))
Here, D4 is set the first time by clicking on the cell, and after that, I have to copy and paste it to use it again.
Why is that ?. Why can't I just click on the reference cell as many time as needed ?.
*_Because itsn't designed to behave this way !_*
The correct way of use is described in a recent thread entitled : "Formula question":
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2603281&tstart=0
In this one, Badunit wrote :
You have to hold down the command key to make a second reference to a cell if you already have a reference to the cell in your formula. Or you can type it in rather than clicking to create the reference.
2)How do i make the formula understand that a cell remains blank (no space, no 0, .. nothing) under conditions ? And then, using this "blank" cell in a sum, as a "0" value in the sum ?.
There is no way to set a cell to blank with a formula. It's a feature which I already asked to Apple.
At this time, when a formula is supposed to returned a NIL value, I ask it to return the nil string defined by "" (string whose length is zero).
When we use the SUM() function, cells which don't store a valid number are carefully dropped.
So, when you aren't sure that cells contain a valid number, don't use the + operator but use the SUM() function.
SUM() behave flawlessly when cells contain the nil string described above.
An alternate soluce is to ask the formula to return zero and apply a custom format which doesn't display the zeroes.
A problem arise when we fill an entire column with calculations.
The custom format is applied to the entire column but it doesn't make the difference between a zero which must be displayed and a zero which doesn't.
In such a case, using the nil string makes the difference and the document is lighter.
Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France) mercredi 6 octobre 2010 13:49:04