Hi, this is Gary with MacMost.com.
On today's episode let me show you how to quickly and easily create sample data in Numbers.
I'm working on building an online course right now that will teach people how to use Mac
Numbers.
In doing so I'm using a technique all the time that I want to share with you that could
help you if you are developing a spreadsheet.
That is the ability to create sample data very quickly.
For instance, say you're creating a spreadsheet and you want to keep track of inventory in
stores.
So you've got various products (apple, orange, pear, peach, banana) and you also have stores.
So Store A, Store B, Store C, Store D, Store E. Let's say you wanted to create sample data
for all of this.
Now imagine if there were a hundred stores and there were fifteen different products.
Entering in a number, you know just typing in something random, takes up a lot of time
and your data really isn't truly random.
Say you just want to have an inventory number between one hundred and two hundred.
Well, you can put a formula in here and use RANDBETWEEN.
So I started typing rand and I get some hints here and I'll hit RANDBETWEEN.
It allows me to put a lower amount.
So let's say I want a minimum of 100 and a maximum of 200.
Then I can copy that and paste that through here and I get all these random numbers.
So great I've got random data.
The only problem is it will change every time something else changes in the spreadsheet.
So I enter a number here, 0, and you can see all those numbers change.
So a way to keep this consistent so I can test out ideas and how this table works is
I can select it all, Edit, and I'll Copy and immediately Paste Formula Results.
When I do that now if I look here and I select a cell and it says the Actual value is that
value.
There is no more formulas in here.
This stuff won't change anymore because these are numbers just as if I had entered them
manually.
Let's say, for instance, if I wanted to create some Footer cells here and do some prices.
Some let me put some Footer cells here, shrink the table up.
In this one I'm going to put the price and let's say I want these values here to be between
twenty cents and fifty cents.
So what I can do is RANDBETWEEN but that's only for whole numbers.
But that will work out fine because let's do cents.
So then 20 and then 50 as the upper.
Then I'll multiple the result by .01.
There I go.
I get that.
I'm going to Copy and Paste this formula across and it will change anytime I change anything.
So I'll do the same thing.
Select it all, Edit, Copy, and Paste Formula Results.
Now these are static numbers here.
So now I can do things like create a total, multiple by the price, and paste that across.
Let's go, to be neat, and create these changes to currency.
So now I've actually got, maybe, a spreadsheet that's kind of working for what I want.
These numbers are static.
I can change them to see how something in the spreadsheet changes and make sure I get
things working right.
Then I can could clear out the data and enter in the real data later on now that I know
my formulas work right, my table looks good, and everything is going to work great.
This works especially well for charts.
I'm going to Undo that here and say if I want to do a chart with this information.
I can do say a Scatter chart here for all these numbers and see whether or not this
works for me and how I want to adjust this chart with sample data.
Then later on when I've got real data I won't have to scramble to work on the chart.
The chart would already be exactly like I want it even before I have my first real number.