Apple Numbers · Data preparation and controls · Beginner

Group records into categories with summary rows in Apple Numbers

Group a Numbers inventory by location and condition, add summary subtotals, edit records, and verify regrouping after adding data.

Documentation reviewed; native application verification pending · Editorial standards

Quick answer: Choose Add Category for the source column, then use a numeric summary cell’s Summary Action menu to add Subtotal. Add a second category for a subgroup; use Organize → Categories to turn grouping off without deleting records.

Scope: Apple Numbers 15.4 for Mac, English interface, using Apple’s version-pinned Mac guide reviewed on 19 October 2026. Native application execution and screenshots are unverified; iPad, iPhone, and Numbers for iCloud procedures are outside this tutorial.

Summarize a six-record stock list by location and condition. Categories reorganize the existing table and add summary rows; they do not create a separate pivot table.

Start with an identifiable practice document

Choose File → New, then the Blank template. Use one table with one header row, no footer rows and no header columns; set these in Format → Table → Headers & Footer. Before entering data, size the empty table to the dimensions below: drag its bottom-left row control to adjust rows and its top-right column control to adjust columns. Later, click the bottom-left control once to append one body row. Double-click the sheet tab to rename it. If the table title is hidden, Control-click the number for row 1 and choose Show Table Title. Double-click the table title to edit it. Cell addresses below belong to that named table, not to the whole sheet.

Create a local folder named Numbers Practice in Documents. Save the initial fixture there with File → Save under the input filename below. Use File → Save As to make a copy under the working filename before continuing. Whenever this guide says to duplicate a document, use this Save As command with the specified new filename; the copy is saved beside the original. Confirm the active document name before editing. Keep the input file unchanged. No external download or account is needed.

Name the sheet Stock and table Inventory. Use four columns and seven rows:

Row	A: ID	B: Location	C: Condition	D: Units
1	`ID`	`Location`	`Condition`	`Units`
2	`K01`	`North`	`Ready`	`4`
3	`K02`	`South`	`Ready`	`7`
4	`K03`	`North`	`Repair`	`2`
5	`K04`	`South`	`Ready`	`3`
6	`K05`	`North`	`Ready`	`6`
7	`K06`	`South`	`Repair`	`5`

Save categories-inputs.numbers, then categories-working.numbers. Units must be numbers. There are six records totaling 27; no filters, merged cells, or hidden rows should be present.

Group and summarize the records

Click inside Inventory. Click Add Category in the toolbar and choose Location.
Find the North and South groups. Check record IDs rather than row numbers, because category rows change the visual layout.
In the North summary row, click the empty cell under Units. Open its Summary Action menu and choose Subtotal.
The same summary calculation is applied to peer groups. Check North 12 and South 15. These add to the original 27.
Click Add Category again and choose Condition as a subcategory.
In a Condition subgroup’s empty Units summary cell, use Summary Action → Subtotal. Verify North/Ready 10, North/Repair 2, South/Ready 10, and South/Repair 5.

The main Location totals should remain 12 and 15. A calculation chosen at one hierarchy level applies to groups at that level; do not assume configuring the main summary automatically configured all subcategories.

Use the disclosure triangle beside North’s summary to collapse its records. The North summary stays visible. Expand it again and confirm the same three IDs are still present. This is a view change, not deletion.

Change a record and verify regrouping

Find ID K03 in North/Repair and change its Condition value to Ready in the source column, not in the summary label. It now belongs with the other North/Ready records. North/Ready becomes 12, South’s two subgroups remain 10 and 5, and the overall total is still 27. The empty North/Repair subgroup should no longer contain a record; do not manufacture a zero record to keep it visible.

Save the working file, then duplicate and save as categories-final.numbers in Documents/Numbers Practice. Reopen the final file and verify the two Location totals, the three Ready records under North, and the unchanged six source records.

Grow the data without targeting summary rows

Duplicate the final as categories-growth.numbers. Select Inventory and open Organize → Categories. Turn Categories off temporarily. The underlying rows become easier to edit; this does not delete category definitions.

Add one body row using the table’s row control. Enter K07, South, Repair, 4 across it. Check all seven IDs are present, then turn Categories back on. The edited data is regrouped. Expected totals: North 12, South 19; South/Ready 10, South/Repair 9; combined 31. Save the growth copy separately.

Troubleshooting and reset

A missing summary may be on the wrong hierarchy level. Click an empty summary cell directly beneath the numeric Units column and select Subtotal, not Count.
Count would answer how many records, not how many units: original North has three records but twelve units.
The category’s displayed group label is not the place to rename individual source values. Edit the Location or Condition body cell for the intended record.
Collapsing a group hides detail; deleting a group deletes its records. Never use Delete Group to return to an uncategorized view.
If a source column was hidden, turning Categories off does not automatically unhide it. Keep both source columns visible throughout this exercise.
For a clean reset, duplicate the unchanged input document. To inspect the final without grouping, use a duplicate and switch Categories off; preserve the saved categorized final.

Official references and verification

These are Apple’s Numbers 15.4 Mac instructions. The fixture values and expected calculations are original worked examples. Documentation and arithmetic review do not establish that the native interface was tested. No product screenshot is presented.

See Sorting and filtering Numbers tables for the related workflow.