Part I: Getting Started with Excel
Number Enables you to specify the number of decimal places, whether to use a comma
to separate thousands, and how to display negative numbers (with a minus sign, in red, in
parentheses, or in red and in parentheses).
Currency Enables you to specify the number of decimal places, choose a currency symbol,
and specify how to display negative numbers (with a minus sign, in red, in parentheses, or
in red and in parentheses). This format always uses a comma to separate thousands.
Accounting Differs from the Currency format in that the currency symbols always align
vertically.
Date Enables you to choose from several different date formats.
Time Enables you to choose from several different time formats.
Percentage Enables you to choose the number of decimal places and always displays a
percent sign.
Fraction Enables you to choose from among nine fraction formats.
Scientific Displays numbers in exponential notation (with an E): 2.00E+05 = 200,000;
2.05E+05 = 205,000. You can choose the number of decimal places to display to the left of E.
The second example can be read as “2.05 times 10 to the fifth.”
Text When applied to a value, causes Excel to treat the value as text (even if it looks like
a number). This feature is useful for such items as part numbers and credit card numbers.
Special Contains additional number formats. In the U.S. version of Excel, the additional
number formats are Zip Code, Zip Code +4, Phone Number, and Social Security Number.
Custom Enables you to define custom number formats that aren’t included in any other
categor y.
If a cell displays a series of hash marks (such as #########), it usually means that the column isn’t wide enough
to display the value in the number format that you selected. Either make the column wider or change the number for-
mat. Hashmarks also indicate a negative time value or an invalid date (that is, a date prior to January 1, 1900).
Adding your own custom number formats
Sometimes you may want to display numerical values in a format that isn’t included in
any of the other categories. If so, the answer is to create your own custom format. Basic
custom number formats contain four sections separated by semicolons. Those four sections
determine how a number will be formatted if it is a positive value, negative value, a zero, or
text.
