Apple Numbers '09 - Manual (Page 112)

3 From the Type pop-up menu, choose Number & Text.
4 Drag the (blue) Entered Text element from the Date & Time Elements box into the
empty format field above the box. (Delete any existing elements that may be in the
field before dragging in the Entered Text element.)
5 Place the insertion point before or after the element, and then type your text,
including spaces if required. You can click the element and use the Left Arrow and
Right Arrow keys to place the insertion point.
When you type “Need to update address” into a field with this format, the value is
displayed like this: Notify customer: Need to update address.
6 In the Name field, type a name for your text format.
Custom format names are listed in the Cell Formats pop-up menu in the format bar
and in the Cell Format pop-up menu of the Cells inspector.
7 Click OK to save your text format and apply it to the selected cells.
Changing a Custom Cell Format
Here are ways to change custom formats and apply changes to table cells:
To change the elements associated with a custom format that’s been applied to cells,
m
select the cells and click Show Format in the Cells inspector.
To delete an element, select the element in the format field and then press Delete.
To add an element, drag an element into the format field.
To move an element, drag it around in the format field.
To redefine an element, click the element’s disclosure triangle and then choose an
option from the pop-up menu.
After making your changes, do one of the following:
To save the changed format and apply it to selected cells using the same name, click Â
OK and then click Replace.
To save the changed format as a new format and apply it to selected cells, change
Â
the format name and then click OK.
To apply the changed format to unselected table cells, select the cells and choose
Â
the name of the format from the Cell Formats pop-up menu in the format bar or the
Cell Format menu in the Cells inspector.
To change a custom format name, use the custom cell format management dialog. To m
show the dialog, click Manage Formats in the custom format dialog or choose
Format > Manage Custom Cell Formats. Then double-click the name, type your
changes, and click OK.
112 Chapter 4 Working with Table Cells