Mason Sklut

In the new version of iWork ’08, Numbers was included along with the traditional Pages and Keynote applications. Numbers is basically Apple’s version of Microsoft Office Excel. In this article, I am just going cover to basics you need to give you a general idea of how much Numbers is capable of. To experience more of Numbers functionality, I highly recommend you use the Inspector panel (hold down the Option, ⌘ (Command), and “I” keys to activate it) along with the built-in Templates to truly take advantage of making graphs.

Calculating Graph Data

1. When there is a graph with data filled in it, you can easily find out everything about the graph such as sums, averages, minimums, and maximums within a few clicks.
2. To start, select the first item in the graph and hold down the Shift key.
3. Then click anywhere else to finish making your selection.
4. Instantaneously, you’ll notice results appear in the bottom left sidebar in Numbers.

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Changing The Style For A Graph

1. Select the graph for which you want to change the style.
2. Now, take a look at the Styles menu in the left sidebar in Numbers.
3. Choose any one of those styles and it will be automatically be applied to your graph.

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Order Graph Data From Ascending/Descending

1. As I mentioned previously, to select a specific range on a graph clicking once and hold the the Shift key, then click one more time to finalize your selection.
2. Hover your mouse pointer over a graph until the column headers (“A”, “B”, “C”) appear.
3. When you put hover your mouse pointer over one of the columns, you should see a small arrow appear.
4. Click on the arrow, and choose “Sort Ascending” or “Sort Descending” to change the order of the data.

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Changing The Data Units In A Graph

1. Go ahead and select the parts of the graph you want to change the units for (remember: use the Shift key to select specific areas).
2. Now go up to the Format Bar and select one the the units listed (1.0 $ % ✓).

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Adding Images To Your Graphs

1. Numbers makes adding images to your graphs incredibly easy.
2. Select and spot to place your image and open up the Media Browser (located above the Format Bar beside Inspector).
3. Now drag and drop your image into the graph wherever you’d like.
4. You can also add a shadow or reflection via the Format Bar.
5. Use the Inspector panel to change how your reflections and shadows appear.

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