Part IV: Using Advanced Excel Features
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Using the Format Cells dialog box to format numbers
For maximum control of number formatting, use the Number tab in the Format Cells dialog box.
You can access this dialog box in any of several ways:l Click the dialog box launcher at the bottom right of the Home ➪ Number group.l (^) Choose Home ➪ Number ➪ Number Format ➪ More Number Formats.
l Press Ctrl+1.
The Number tab in the Format Cells dialog box contains 12 categories of number formats from
which to choose. When you select a category from the list box, the right side of the dialog box
changes to display appropriate options.
Here are the number-format categories, along with some general comments:
l (^) General: The default format; it displays numbers as integers, decimals, or in scientific
notation if the value is too wide to fit into the cell.
l (^) Number: Specify the number of decimal places, whether to use your system thousands
separator (for example, a comma) to separate thousands, and how to display negative
numbers.
l Currency: Specify the number of decimal places, choose a currency symbol, and display
negative numbers. This format always uses the system thousands separator symbol (for
example, a comma) to separate thousands.
l (^) Accounting: Differs from the Currency format in that the currency symbols always line up
vertically, regardless of the number of digits displayed in the value.
l (^) Date: Choose from a variety of date formats and select the locale for your date formats.
l Time: Choose from a number of time formats and select the locale for your time formats.
l (^) Percentage: Choose the number of decimal places; always displays a percent sign.
l Fraction: Choose from among nine fraction formats.
l (^) Scientific: Displays numbers in exponential notation (with an E): 2.00E+05 =
200,000. You can choose the number of decimal places to display to the left of E.
l (^) Text: When applied to a value, causes Excel to treat the value as text (even if it looks like
a value). This feature is useful for such items as numerical part numbers and credit card
numbers.
l Special: Contains additional number formats. The list varies, depending on the Locale
you choose. For the English (United States) locale, the formatting options are Zip Code,
Zip Code +4, Phone Number, and Social Security Number.
l (^) Custom: Define custom number formats not included in any of the other categories.