How do I fix space in table row when using the 'Fit' button on Numbers app?

Question

Level 1

13 points

How do I fix space in table row when using the 'Fit' button on Numbers app?

I noticed that the row height of my table were displaying some space at the bottom, so I selected some row (or the whole table) and go to Table sidebar. If the fit button is greyed out, I change the height point down by 1 pt, then click on the fit button (now black). some cell heights are the size of the content but most of them are displaying a variable space below the content, making the cell height not fitting the content.

Even if I adjust the height manually and click again on fit, the unwanted space below reappear.

This is the first time I notice that, and I can not find a way to fix it.

Am I doing something wrong or is this a bug?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: row height fit does not work

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 13.6

Posted on Jun 28, 2025 09:27 AM

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Answer 1

Badunit

Level 7

29,844 points

Jun 30, 2025 05:37 AM in response to paulgodard

I have never seen it do this without a reason, I have never seen it work incorrectly.

Tell us more about the cell content: are any of them formulas or is it all manually typed-in data or is it copy/pasted from somewhere or is it imported from Excel, or something else? Is the cell content set to "automatic"

If you want to do some testing that might help figure it out when/where it is breaking, here are some steps I'd take:

Make a duplicate of your document so you are not doing this on your actual document.
Select A9:S9 and use Command X (cut). Did the row resize to one line after the content was removed?
If it did not automatically resize to one line, use the "fit" control in the sidebar. Did the row resize to one line?
Paste the content back into the row (so you don't lose it). I assume the row goes back to not fitting correctly.
Create a new row and make sure the height is set to "fit". Is it the correct height?
One by one copy/paste a cell from row 9 into this new row. Is there any one cell that causes the problem?

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Answer 2

paulgodard Author

Level 1

13 points

Jun 29, 2025 01:53 AM in response to SGIII

There are definitely no invisible characters in any of these cells. After selecting these cells and clicking on fit... see the gaps. If I manually adjust the heights and fit again, it comes back to the same with gaps.

[Edited by Moderator]

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Answer 3

SGIII

Level 8

37,202 points

Jun 28, 2025 10:17 PM in response to paulgodard

'Fit' shouldn't leave space. Perhaps you have extra invisible characters in the text that Numbers is making room for?

Can you post a screenshot? (shift-command-4, select area, release, start a new post here and use the mountains-and-moon 'Image insertion' icon to attach the image from the Desktop).

SG

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Answer 4

SGIII

Level 8

37,202 points

Jun 29, 2025 02:14 AM in response to paulgodard

If you first selected row 9 and then clicked 'Fit' and you still get that result then I'm guessing you must have content "taller" than you think in one or more of the cells in that row somewhere. It just may not be visible. Extra returns at the end of the comment or something like that.

SG

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Answer 5

Badunit

Level 7

29,844 points

Jun 30, 2025 10:12 AM in response to Badunit

Another thing you can try is to select A9:S9, Copy, then Paste it into a new TextEdit document that is set to "rich text". It will create a table from it. If it does the same thing there, then it is not a Numbers problem (or at least is not isolated to Numbers).

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Answer 6

paulgodard Author

Level 1

13 points

Jun 30, 2025 11:55 PM in response to Badunit

Thank your for your time but as I needed this to work, I created a new sheet with an same-size empty table and copied the content from the problem table. All the rows became the correct size immediately... no need to use the fit button. I then deleted the problem sheet so I can not test anymore... but thank you for your help.

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