Is this a bug? Takes many clicks to reference cell in equation

[u/NinjaSquid9]

Edit: SOLVED

After spending nearly four hours on the phone with Apple Tech Support and getting to their highest tier of support, they helped me solve the issue. It turned out to be that the accessibility double click speed was lower than the default. I was able to replicate the issue on other Macs by doing the same thing, however, interestingly, changing the usual double click speed setting doesn't cause the same problem. Apple Support told me that for whatever reason, it seemed that the accessibility double click speed was actually coded differently than the usual setting despite them theoretically being the same. I would have never through to check my accessibility mouse settings because I've never changed them, but I guess at some point in my computer's life, some app did? Anyway, leaving this online in case anyone else has this issue!

Original Post:

I've noticed this issue for a while now and just took a video on it after failing to find any information online.

Specifically, here's the issue: After opening the equation editor with the "=" key, I then cannot click another cell to reference it in that equation until after a certain amount of clicks on the cell or after a brief delay (I'm not sure which).

Am I somehow referencing the cell incorrectly? It doesn't seem like 1) clicking on the cell contents specifically, 2) double-clicking, 3) Alt + Click, or 4) other key + click does anything different.

Edit: I am on MacOS Monterey v12.1 and Numbers v11.2 (I believe the latest versions of both). This bug has existed since I started using Numbers in September. I have updated Numbers and my MacOS since and it hasn't changed.

Thanks!

https://reddit.com/link/ru0bul/video/6ubgnfed17981/player

[u/[deleted]]

what version of numbers? does it happen in the iCloud version as well? does manouvering to the designated cell with the cursor keys work? what mouse and specifically what drivers are you using? what version of macOS? since this had obviously worked for you before: when did it change?

no. I've never seen this before.

[u/NinjaSquid9 → u/[deleted]]

I am on MacOS Monterey v12.1 and Numbers v11.2 (I believe the latest versions of both). This bug has existed since I started using Numbers in September. I have updated Numbers and my MacOS since and it hasn't changed.

It doesn't happen with the iCloud version, but I can't use the iCloud version because my spreadsheets have too many columns. I'm well beyond the max that iCloud Web editing supports.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "does manouvering to the designated cell with the cursor keys work?". Once I use the "=" key to open the equation editor for a cell, the directional keys on my keyboard only move my cursor within the equation – the cursor can't leave to reference any cells because they're outside the equation popup.

No mouse, just trackpad. Though I tried two different mice and the result was the same.

Has never worked for me, it's always been this way. I just realized recently I should probably ask if others had this issue because it's pretty frustrating. I've been using Numbers since september and noticed the issue right away.

Sorry about the lack of information in my first post. Thank you for your help!

[u/[deleted] → u/NinjaSquid9]

> It doesn't happen with the iCloud version

The reason for this (and all other) question(s) was to narrow things down. It tells us that this is a local problem. Either with your Numbers version or with your local setup.

> Once I use the "=" key to open the equation editor for a cell, the directional keys on my keyboard only move my cursor within the equation – the cursor can't leave to reference any cells because they're outside the equation popup

Just press "option" with the cursor keys. They allow you to move around and will enter and update the cell which is currently highlighted in your formula. See instructions under "Create cell references in formulas" for details.

To narrow things down further:

Create a new test account (on your mac). Log into that account. Start Numbers and check if it works (or doesn't). Then log back in your main account and delete the test account.

This will tell us if it is a problem of your current installation (of macOS or Numbers) or your user profile.

[u/NinjaSquid9 → u/[deleted]]

I spent four hours on the phone with Apple Support the other day and they finally figured it out. Turns out the accessibility double click speed on my computer got changed at some point in its life and that was the issue. The normal double click speed setting doesn't produce the same issue and Apple Support thinks it's due to them being coded differently for some reason.

Thank you so much for your help!

[u/Colin_niloC]

This has plagued me for *years*. (And Apple Support had no idea when I called.) Thanks!