Aligning split columns in a spreadsheet

Question

I'm using Numbers, but I think excel users would also know the answer here.

All I want to know is, how can align the 'amount' column with the columns below it, and the 'total' column with the columns below that? As you can see they're a bit off and no amount of dragging seems to be able to fix it.

Bit of a beginner regarding spreadsheets...I'd like to use split columns for my sales, but is this unorthodox? Should I just go ahead and double the number of rows and then just write 'N/A' for the rows that don't relate to sales? Cash ISA for example?

Answer 1

I don't know Numbers, and the scenario you post in your screenshot looks very unfortunate. There seems to be a dis-joint of how many cells are joined for the amount and total column. Rows 8 to 12 have a completely different cell merge pattern than rows 13 and below.

As a general rule, build the table with the columns you need for data entry and calculation, using ONE column for each value.

If you want labels that span several columns, insert a row and add the labels on that row above the actual column labels. If labels need to appear to span several columns, use the "center across selection" option in the Horizontal Alignment settings of the formatting dialog (this is Excel, you asked for it. Numbers may be completely different).

As another general rule, do NOT use merged cells to center text across several columns. There's not enough aspirin in a pharmacy to fight the headaches caused by merged cells.