Displaying wide numbers in narrow Numbers columns without clipping

I have a Numbers spreadsheet with a narrow column of small numbers with the total displaying at the bottom of the column. The total has many more digits than anything else in the column. There is nothing in the cell to the right of the total, but the display of the total is clipped at the cell boundary. I know text can be made to overflow into an adjacent empty cell, can the same thing be made to happen for a wide number? I don't want to make the column wider for other reasons.



[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Can wide numbers in a narrow column continue to display in an empty adjacent cell like wide text can?

MacBook Pro (M1, 2020)

Posted on Oct 14, 2025 11:51 AM

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5 replies

Oct 14, 2025 5:34 PM in response to Mick_M

You can merge the cell with the one directly to the left of it. It would be best if it is a footer row. Note that the cell with the formula is actually in the column to the left, not the same column as the other numbers.



Or you can adjust the font size downward until it fits. Excel can do this automatically but you have to do it manually in Numbers.


Oct 14, 2025 4:45 PM in response to Mick_M

You could coerce the Number to Text, something like this:



But then you can't use that cell for ongoing calculations and you have no (easy) way to control the thousands separator (the , or . used in your region).


Wouldn't it be easier to take advantage of the ability of Numbers to have multiple tables on one sheet and design your document so you have enough space to display the totals?


SG


Displaying wide numbers in narrow Numbers columns without clipping

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