Shortcut differences between MS Excel and Mac Numbers

A previous article on Mac keyboard has already made the users aware about how different it is from a normal desktop windows keyboard. In this article we go one step further and see how much the shortcuts of Numbers (the spreadsheet application of Mac) differ from that of Excel. 

For the sake of simplicity in understanding, we can divide the shortcuts of Numbers in 2 groups

1. The shortcuts which are same as their windows counterpart, with only difference being the equivalent modifier key. 

2. The shortcuts in which the key combination is different from that of Excel

In the first set of shortcuts the user needs to remember only the equivalent modifier key if he/she is well-versed with the Excel shortcuts. So a shortcut like 'Ctrl + A' in Excel becomes 'Cmd + A' in Numbers as the command key is the equivalent key of control in Mac. 
Few more examples are - 

Command + F = Ctrl + F
Command + Page Down = Ctrl + Page Down

We are interested in the second set of shortcuts as here lies a greater difference. A person moving to Numbers from Excel need to learn them as there are more differences than just substitution of an equivalent key. There are a lot of such shortcuts but we will be keeping our focus solely on the shortcuts (in fact, the actions performed by them) that we have already discussed in Excel. 

One important thing to note here is that Mac doesn't have shortcuts for a no. of actions that we do frequently on Excel. So here we will be discussing only 5 such shortcuts in Mac which are very much different from Excel. 

Action	Excel Shortcut	Numbers Shortcut
Switching between applications	ALT + Tab	Cmd + Tab
Closing Excel application	ALT + F4	Cmd + W
Addition of row/column	CTRL+ Shift + ‘Plus’	Option + arrow
Switching between spreadsheets	CTRL + Tab	Function + cmd + up/down arrow

Addition of row/column

This action needs a bit of description. Unlike Excel, where you can only insert a row/column just above the row or to the left of the column you are on, Numbers allows you to insert a row/ column in any direction. For example, pressing Option + down arrow will lead to insertion of a new row just below the selected row. That gives you a lot more flexibility in Numbers as compared to Excel. 

Numbers – The Spreadsheet Application of Apple Mac

MS Excel isn't the only spreadsheet application around, though its popularity makes it far more recognizable than others. Nevertheless, there are other equally effective spreadsheet applications around. The most popular amongst them is Numbers, the spreadsheet application of Apple's OS Mac.

Like Microsoft, Apple has its own office suite for its OS Mac - iWork. Just like MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint, it consists of word processing software (Pages), presentation software (Keynote) and spreadsheet software (Numbers). We will be getting some basic idea about Numbers today. 

First of all, let's see how this spreadsheet application of Mac looks like.

Now let's go through some unique features of Numbers and see how similar/different it is from MS Excel. 

1. Version

The first version of Numbers, 1.0, was launched in 2007 and the latest version is 3.0. 

2. Templates

Instead of using tables, Numbers provides the users with a blank canvas. It gives you freedom in choosing fonts as well as style cell borders. There are as many as 30 templates to choose from. A screenshot given below gives an idea regarding that

3. Functions

Features like formulas, functions, charts and smartArt etc. which make Excel so productive are present in Numbers. However, the functions library of Numbers isn't as rich as MS Excel. 

4. Chart Quality

At the same time, though, the quality of charts prepared on Numbers is a notch higher than its Windows counterpart. 

5. Application

But the main difference between them lies in their application. MS Excel is more business oriented and needs more refined approach. Numbers, on the other hand, caters more to casual or home users who have less complicated tasks to do on it. 

The next article will be dealing with the keyboard shortcuts in Numbers. 

Difference between Windows and Mac keyboard

Most of the people in one part of the world are habitual of working on Windows OS due to its wide presence in homes and offices outside USA. Apple’s Macintosh (Mac) is another popular OS, but limited knowledge about it, especially in Asia, dissuades many from adopting this OS. In this new series of articles our attempt will be imparting some basic knowledge about Mac and how its Office suite differs from that of Microsoft. 

The very first step in this direction is to understand how the keyboard of Mac differs from that of windows. Let's see how a Mac keyboard looks like. 

Windows keys and their Macintosh equivalents

Windows Keys	Mac Keys
Control (CTRL)	Command (CMD)
ALT	Option (OPT)
Delete	DEL
Backspace	Delete
Enter	Return

Mac Keys and their symbols

Key symbols	Mac Keys
⌘	Command (CMD)
⌃	Option (OPT)
⌥	DEL

Now let’s have a look at some brief information about the Macintosh keys mentioned above

1. Command - This key is the substitution of the ‘control’ key on windows keyboard. Like its windows counterpart, command is used in popular shortcuts. In some keyboards this key is labeled ‘cmd’ with a Bowen knot symbol. Earlier Apple logo was used as a symbol.

E.g. Command + A (shortcut for ‘Select All’)

2. Option -  This key is the substitution of the ‘ALT’ key on the windows keyboard. The combination of Option along with some other key (option + 8 key will insert the bullet character) is used to perform any action.

E.g. Option + 8 (Shortcut for ‘Inserting Bullet character)

3. Delete - There is no ‘Backspace’ key in the Mac keyboard. Instead you will find the key ‘Delete’. It is used to delete the typed characters.

4. DEL -  It is the substitute of ‘Delete’ key in the windows keyboard and functions in the similar way. 

5. Return - 'Enter’ in the Windows keyboard is replaced by Return in the Mac keyboard. The function though remains the same.

Function Keys in Mac keyboard

Unlike Windows, which has 12 function keys (F1 to F12) on any type of keyboard, a Mac keyboard can either has 12 or 19 function keys depending upon the inclusion of the num pad. It's imperative to give a brief knowledge about the function keys here. 

Function Keys	Use
F1 and F2	Controlling brightness
F3	Mission control
F4	Launchpad
F7-F9	For music
F10-F12	Volume control
F5/F6/F13-F19	Unassigned or blank keys

Some important points regarding these function keys are as follows

1. Mission Control gives an overview of all the running applications by showing them separately on screen. 

2. Launchpad lets you see, organize and easily open your apps. 

3. The blank keys can be assigned a particular function by the users.