Often, when you enter numbers into a spreadsheet, you need to ensure that the number format is consistent. For example, if these numbers are prices, you may want to display the currency symbol or you may simply want to specify that the number of decimals displayed is always two.
Unless you specify otherwise, all numbers in Excel are rendered in the "General" format. This means that numbers are displayed exactly as you enter them: if you enter two decimals, two decimals are displayed; if you went to one decimal, one decimal is displayed; and so on.
When specifying the number format, the best idea is usually to select the whole column. To do this, click on the letter or letters representing the column. (Any text contained in the selection will not be affected by the number format you specify.)
Number formats are found in the "Numbers" section of the Home Tab of the Excel Ribbon. There are three principal formats related to numbers: the first is "Number", the second "Currency" and the third "Accounting". To access the full range of number formats, choose "More Number Formats" from the "Numbers" drop-down menu. Another method of accessing the same dialog box is to click on the launch button in the "Numbers" group of the Home Tab.
When you click on one of the number formats on the left of the "Numbers" dialogue box, you are given a series of choices which enable you to refine the way that the format will work. Thus, if your numbers refer to an hourly rate, you would click the "Number" category in the left column and then specify two decimal places. The option to "Use Thousands Separator" will add the appropriate separator to demarcate thousands. The separator used will depend on your locality: for example, in the UK or USA, a comma will be used; in European countries, a dot will be used.
The final option in the "Number" category controls the display of negative numbers. The default is to display a minus sign in front of the number and leave the colour of the number unchanged. However, you can also dispense with the minus sign and change the colour of negative numbers to red; or you can both change the colour of negative numbers to red and display the minus sign.
When you click on the "Currency" category, you have pretty much the same choices with the addition of a currency symbol. One can specify which currency symbol is used or one can dispense with the currency symbol altogether.
The "Accounting" category is almost identical to "Currency". Once again, we can choose the currency symbol. However, you will notice that there are no choices relating to negative numbers. The convention in accountancy is to put negative numbers in brackets.
As an alternative to using the number dialog box, you can also click on one of the series of handy buttons which are used to apply each of the number formats with single click. There are also two buttons for decreasing and increasing the number of decimals displayed in the highlighted cells.
Finally, there may be times where you enter a number into a cell but do not want Excel to treat it as a number. For example, if you have a column of data representing an ID, although the ID may be numeric, you may not want Excel to regard it as a number or to modify it in any way. You will probably want it to simply stay exactly as it was entered. Whenever that's the case, it's best to format the number as "Text". The simplest way of doing this is to highlight the appropriate column and in the number dialog box choose "Text" as the category. - 16732
Unless you specify otherwise, all numbers in Excel are rendered in the "General" format. This means that numbers are displayed exactly as you enter them: if you enter two decimals, two decimals are displayed; if you went to one decimal, one decimal is displayed; and so on.
When specifying the number format, the best idea is usually to select the whole column. To do this, click on the letter or letters representing the column. (Any text contained in the selection will not be affected by the number format you specify.)
Number formats are found in the "Numbers" section of the Home Tab of the Excel Ribbon. There are three principal formats related to numbers: the first is "Number", the second "Currency" and the third "Accounting". To access the full range of number formats, choose "More Number Formats" from the "Numbers" drop-down menu. Another method of accessing the same dialog box is to click on the launch button in the "Numbers" group of the Home Tab.
When you click on one of the number formats on the left of the "Numbers" dialogue box, you are given a series of choices which enable you to refine the way that the format will work. Thus, if your numbers refer to an hourly rate, you would click the "Number" category in the left column and then specify two decimal places. The option to "Use Thousands Separator" will add the appropriate separator to demarcate thousands. The separator used will depend on your locality: for example, in the UK or USA, a comma will be used; in European countries, a dot will be used.
The final option in the "Number" category controls the display of negative numbers. The default is to display a minus sign in front of the number and leave the colour of the number unchanged. However, you can also dispense with the minus sign and change the colour of negative numbers to red; or you can both change the colour of negative numbers to red and display the minus sign.
When you click on the "Currency" category, you have pretty much the same choices with the addition of a currency symbol. One can specify which currency symbol is used or one can dispense with the currency symbol altogether.
The "Accounting" category is almost identical to "Currency". Once again, we can choose the currency symbol. However, you will notice that there are no choices relating to negative numbers. The convention in accountancy is to put negative numbers in brackets.
As an alternative to using the number dialog box, you can also click on one of the series of handy buttons which are used to apply each of the number formats with single click. There are also two buttons for decreasing and increasing the number of decimals displayed in the highlighted cells.
Finally, there may be times where you enter a number into a cell but do not want Excel to treat it as a number. For example, if you have a column of data representing an ID, although the ID may be numeric, you may not want Excel to regard it as a number or to modify it in any way. You will probably want it to simply stay exactly as it was entered. Whenever that's the case, it's best to format the number as "Text". The simplest way of doing this is to highlight the appropriate column and in the number dialog box choose "Text" as the category. - 16732
About the Author:
The The writer of this article is a trainer and developer with TrainingCompany.Com, a UK IT training company offering Microsoft Excel Classes in London and throughout the UK.
