I use the Mac Numbers app (version 5.1) on a retina MacBook Pro, Safari 11.1.2
I need to copy & paste a spreadsheet to include the formulae, but not the figures?
Spefically, my accounts for July, with all the relevant formulae and I want to use the same layout - and, in general, the same formulae, but not the same figures - for my accounts for August. Up to now, I have copied & pasted the spreadsheet, then deleted the information in the relevant cells - but this also deletes the formulae.
The simplest way is to keep the data column separate from formula column, then just delete the data.
For more automated action I found this answer for you..
A short script can clear all the content in a selected range of cells except formulas, which are left intact. First use the File->Duplicate in Numbers to create a copy.
Next step... Copy-paste the script below into Script Editor (in Applications > Utilities folder). Select a range of cells in Numbers, some of which contain data while other have formulas. With the cells selected, click the triangle 'run' button in Script Editor.
It's always best to make a copy of your work before performing an operation like this, just in case you do the wrong thing or change your mind.
tell application "Numbers"
tell front document to tell active sheet
tell (first table whose selection range's class is range)
set selRng to selection range
repeat with aCell in selRng's cells
tell aCell to if its formula is missing value then set its value to ""
end repeat
end tell
end tell
end tell
One way to accomplish this would be to use automation. You can create a Service that deletes all non-formula cells in a selected table.
In your scenario, you'd copy and paste the entire old table—complete with the figures you want to delete—then execute the Service on the newly pasted table to remove all of the figures.
To do this:
/Applications/Utilities/Automator.app) and create a new Service.no input in Numbers.Run AppleScript action and drag it into the main workflow pane on the right side.Set the contents of the Run AppleScript to the following:
on run {input, parameters}
tell document 1 of application "Numbers"
tell (table 1 of active sheet whose class of selection range is range)
repeat with c in cells
tell c to if formula is missing value then set value to ""
end repeat
end tell
end tell
end run
Save the Service under a name you'll recognize (perhaps "Delete Figures").
From now on, whenever you are in Numbers and want to clear the raw figures from a table with formulas, select the table by clicking within it, then click Numbers in the menu bar, hover over Services in the menu that appears, and then click on the Service you just created (which I called "Delete Figures").
If you'd like to expedite this further, you could bind a keyboard shortcut to this Service in System Preferences:
Shortcuts tab, then click App Shortcuts in the menu on the left.+ icon in the lower left. Select Numbers as the application, and type the name of your Service exactly as it appears in the Services menu as the Menu Title. Then click on the Keyboard Shortcut field and press the keyboard shortcut you'd like to bind to the Service.Now, when in Numbers, you can simply click within a table whose raw figures you'd like to delete, then press that keyboard shortcut to remove them.
