My normal methodology is to do anything Word-related in Mac Pages...importing Word documents into it and then Exporting them when finished...or vice-versa if I have to create a document that will ultimately have to exist in Word. Thus, my near-total ignorance of how to do all but the simplest tasks natively in Word for Mac.



I'm throwing myself on the mercy of Word savants and begging for help — because this methodology isn't working for me in this instance.

I created a Pages document that has a simple Table in it with these columns:

A - Item
B - Quantity
C - Unit Price
D - Total

and a Grand Total cell at the bottom of the far right column. There are only two functions involved:

1) In the D column: =B2*C2

2) In the Grand Total cell: SUM (D2: D6)

This table works flawlessly in Pages. When I input new figures in the B and C columns, the D column reflects the new calculations, and the Grand Total cell is updated accordingly.


However, when I Export the Pages document to Word (2011), nothing works at all. The cell formulae apparently don't copy over. Furthermore, I can't for the life of me figure out how to duplicate this functionality in Word.

I see that there is a Function... selection under the Table menu, and it gives me ready-made PRODUCT and SUM functions. But I see no way to specify the cells involved, as they aren't identified in my table, and my logical guess at cell addresses that would seem to make sense don't work. Nor can you simply click on cells to insert them in the formula.

What am I missing here? If it's something blindingly obvious, I apologize in advance, but I'm extremely frustrated right now that I can't get something that should be so simple to work.

Any help anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated!


EDIT: OK, so I later discovered that by choosing each individual cell, one by one, in the table and going to the Function... submenu, entering the PRODUCT(LEFT) formula and specifying the currency formatting, I got the calculations to work. (Simply copying the contents of a cell with the formula and pasting them to adjacent cells didn't work.)

BUT...when I change the number in the Quantity and Unit Price cells... nothing happens. The cell with the calculation in it remains the same.

So then I discovered that by right-clicking on each individual D (Total) cell and choosing Update Field, I can get the correct calculation.

HUH??? You really have to do this each and every time you input a new figure? In the name of all that's holy, WHY????

Is this really my only option here? And do I have to explain all of this to the future users of this document? (It won't go over well, I'm sure.)

I just don't get it. Surely there's an easier way?

(And by the way... how do I format my Unit Price column for currency? I couldn't find any way to do this other than in the Function section... but I can't do it without also specifying a formula, which I don't want in these cells. Now what???)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome to Word and its field coding!

To see what's possible, check out my Microsoft Word Field Maths Tutorial, at:
http://windowssecrets.com/forums/sho...l=1#post320143
or
http://www.gmayor.com/downloads.htm#Third_party

Formatting, FWIW, is controlled via switches you can add to the fields.

As for the updating, it's only truly automatic when you use a document with formfields for the data entry and check their 'calculate on exit' property. You can also ensure they're correct at print time by checking Word's 'update fields before printing' property.

PS: For cross-posting etiquette, please read: http://www.excelguru.ca/content.php?184

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

You are not using the table in Word for the intended purpose. What you are describing seems to be an Excel layout, and not Word. While Word will do some simple math functions, that is not the purpose of Word. You really should be using Excel to do the kind of math functions you are proposing.

In Excel, you can set up something that looks very much like a Table, but has greater math capabilities, and will update automatically. Word does not do that automatically. The formulas you have used can be used in Excel in the same way, and the Total will update the instant you make any changes.

I would also not try to create your document in one system and then try to convert it to another. It is much simpler, and less troublesome, to create your table in Excel right from the start, and it will work very well that way. You can then forward that to anyone else in Excel format, or create a PDF of your table and send that document. There are often some details that get lost in the translation from one OS to another, and it's best to avoid that, if at all possible.

While Excel may not be in your comfort zone, once you look at it, you will see that it is very similar to what you are using now, and is actually very easy to use, especially for the kind of work you are doing. It excels at that kind of work! (sorry for that pun)

legalbeagle: I beg to differ. Excel may be more capable than Word with for table-like calculations, but that does not mean Word isn't the appropriate application for some circumstances; otherwise, why do you suppose it provides the functions it does? If you have a read of the tutorial in the link I provided, I think you'll find Word is a whole lot more capable than you seem to be giving it credit for.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

Of course, opinions will differ. It all depends on what you are most comfortable using. My brother used Excel for ALL of his word processing, including business letters and all documents. That is what he liked, and it does work, and he didn't want to try to learn anything else.

If you like tables in Word, go ahead and use them; all these programs were designed for the different kinds of work we are required to do, and it's always best (though not the only way) to use the most efficient tool for the job. But then again, I do a lot more financial work (requiring more than simple addition), and Excel is the most efficient -- for me -- and that is what I suggested he try. You, of course, are free to use anything else that works for you. That is one of the benefits of living in a [sort of] free society.

Thanks for your links, Paul; however, a person needs to join some site in order to read them, so ... that was that.

In which case, starting your post with:
violates your own principles. It certainly isn't correct to make such an assertion without a full understanding of what the OP was trying to do - and why.
You do not have to join anything to download the tutorial from the second site ... Read the tutorial and learn just how capable Word is!!!

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]