How to import text to columns and import numbers to text in macOS Numbers

ms officenumbers

Windows Excel allows me to paste a body of text and in the bottom right corner of the pasted content, a menu prompt will pop up that can initiate the "Text Import Wizard" to import delimited text into columns (text separated by commas or spaces, for example). In Numbers, such an option doesn't exist that I know of.

Second, how can I import text (including numbers) as text? With windows I can do both of these functions with the Text Import Wizard and with Numbers I can't do either.

The only solution I've found to the first problem is to download a custom workflow that I found in this Apple Community thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8293955

And a less elegant solution is also discussed here but it's much more clunky: How can I do text-to-columns in Numbers?

Regardless, I still haven't found a way to import numbers as text.

Best Answer

Not sure which version of Numbers you are using but one can adjust import settings from a text file in both Numbers v6.1 and v10.2 and it works resonably well in my experience.

Just open the text file using Numbers and a popup menu will emerge saying "Table data was imported. Adjust Settings" as soon as the file is opened. This menu disappears after a few seconds but you can adjust the same settings using an option in the sidebar menu as well as described in this Apple support page.

As for your second question, sorry that I don't know in general how.