Why do Cell widths change when copying to Numbers?

Question

Level 1

67 points

Why do Cell widths change when copying to Numbers?

When I copy text to Numbers from Excel I get cell widths that flow across multiple columns, depending on amount of text in the cell. If I then remove enough of the text I would expect the cell width to shrink to the original cell width, i.e. so the cell aligns with the spreadsheet's normal column widths. This does not happen, and I see nothing obvious in the user guide about this. Doubtless it's there but I can't find it. Any ideas?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 15.0

Posted on Aug 9, 2024 7:19 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

SGIII

Level 8

36,134 points

Aug 10, 2024 7:58 PM in response to duncantho

Are cells somehow merged because of the paste from Excel?

To test, select cells in the table that look "wide" and go to the Table menu and look at Merge Cells and Unmerge Cells.

Also, you could experiment with using Edit > Paste and Match Style instead of command-v or Edit > Paste and see if that provides more satisfactory results.

SG

Reply

Answer 2

Yellowbox

Level 7

21,209 points

Aug 9, 2024 9:11 PM in response to duncantho

Hi duncantho,

Do you mean this?

Column C is blank and Numbers allows B3 to flow across.

Column C is not blank and Numbers truncates long text from B

Try this:

Regards,

Ian.

Reply

Answer 3

duncantho Author

Level 1

67 points

Aug 10, 2024 12:07 PM in response to Yellowbox

Thanks for your reply, Yellowbox.

Cell wrap isn't the issue. Below is what I'm getting when pasting from Excel. After pasting I've replaced the original text in a bid to shorten the cell widths but the widths remained … wide.

Reply

Answer 4

duncantho Author

Level 1

67 points

Aug 10, 2024 8:36 PM in response to SGIII

You are brilliant, SGill!

Both your suggestions work, with Paste and Match Style being best for my purposes because it avoids the problem entirely. Thanks very much.

Reply