Select text in Numbers on Mac
You select text to change its formatting, move it, copy it, and more. You can select any amount of text—from characters, to words, to paragraphs—and the text can be contiguous or noncontiguous (nonadjacent). Selecting noncontiguous text makes it easy to perform the same action on specific text selections throughout a spreadsheet.
Before you can select text in a text box, shape, table cell, or title or caption text field, you need to first place the insertion point inside the object or text field. The insertion point is the blinking vertical line that indicates where the text you type appears.
Place the insertion point
You place the insertion point to indicate where you want to start typing or selecting text.
Note: If you’re working on a blank sheet, you need to add a text box, shape, or table to the sheet before you can place the insertion point.
Go to the Numbers app
on your Mac.Open a spreadsheet, then do one of the following:
In a table cell: Click the cell to select it, then click where you want to place the insertion point.
In a text box: Click the text box. If the object already contains text, click once to select the object, then click again in the text where you want to place the insertion point.
In a shape: Double-click the shape. If the object contains text, a word is selected; click again where you want to place the insertion point.
In a title or caption: Click the title or caption to select the field, then click again to place the insertion point.
After you place the insertion point, you can use the arrow keys to move it.
Note: You can’t place an insertion point in placeholder text. When you click placeholder text, the entire block of text is selected. The insertion point appears only after you start typing.
Select text
If the text is in a table cell, you must click the cell before you can select the text.
Go to the Numbers app
on your Mac.Open a spreadsheet, then do any of the following to select text:
Select one or more characters: Click in front of the first character and drag across the characters.
Select a word: Double-click the word.
Select a paragraph: Triple-click in the paragraph.
Quickly select a range of text without dragging: Click in front of the first character, then hold down the Shift key on your keyboard and click at the end of the text you want to select.
Select noncontiguous text (two or more nonadjacent words or text selections): Press and hold the Command key while selecting two or more nonadjacent words or ranges of text.
You can select a range of continuous text or multiple noncontiguous selections only within the same area of a sheet—for example, within a single text box, shape, or table cell.
To deselect all text selections, click anywhere on the sheet outside a selection. To deselect only one or some portion of your noncontiguous selections, press and hold the Command key, then select the text you want to exclude.
For more ways to select text, see Keyboard shortcuts.