A table in a Pages document can show a fraction while storing a numeric value. Searching for the decimal equivalent may return nothing even though the intended quantity is present. Before replacing what you see, determine whether the task is changing a quantity or merely changing how that quantity is displayed.

Work in a document copy. Choose a known numeric cell formatted to display one quarter as 1/4. Record that its intended value is 0.25, and identify any calculation that uses it. A typed text label that happens to contain 1/4 is a different starting point, so do not treat every matching string as the same kind of value.

Apple documents that Pages search matches a table cell’s displayed value, not its underlying value or formula. Command-F opens search. For the chosen fraction cell, look for the displayed fraction rather than treating an unsuccessful search for its decimal equivalent as evidence that the quantity is absent.

In Find & Replace, replacing a numeric table value changes both its display and its underlying value. Matching cells that contain a formula cannot be replaced this way. Use Replace on the selected, confirmed input cell for a small trial; Replace All has document-wide consequences beyond that one input.

Calculate the consequence before applying the change

Suppose the permitted revision increases an allocation from one quarter of a unit to one half. Replacing 1/4 with 1/2 changes the intended numeric amount from 0.25 to 0.5. For eight allocations, the expected total changes from 2 units to 4 units. This is a quantity change, even if the edit appears to be a short text replacement.

Compare the revised input and its dependent total with those expected values. Inspect the units and row labels as well. A total of 4 is meaningful only if the formula still refers to eight allocations of the intended item.

If the objective was to show 0.25 instead of 1/4 while preserving the amount, do not replace the value with a different quantity. Resolve that display requirement through the table’s formatting controls and confirm that the dependent result remains 2.

Treat formula results separately

When the matched cell is a calculated result, inspect its formula and the inputs that determine it. A replacement limitation is not a reason to type a desired answer over the calculation. Correct the authorised input or formula, then verify the resulting value.

Before issuing the document, check the changed table alongside any prose quoting its figures. Retain the original copy and the expected arithmetic so another editor can distinguish a deliberate numeric revision from a cosmetic formatting adjustment.

Reference: Apple: finding and replacing text in Pages.