Jan's Excel Intro: Number Formats

	Excel Intro: Number Formats

Numbers can be written in different ways and still mean the same amount. For example, 1 can also be written as 1.00, 1.000, or 100%, depending on exactly what you are doing and how you want to look at your numbers.

[For the perfectionists out there: Yes, I know that there are differences in the exact meaning of the numbers above, but for most purposes in spreadsheets we can treat them as the same.]

Excel includes buttons for some of the most common ways to format numbers. Later you will use a dialog that has even more choices.

Currency: formats the number as money, like $1.00 if your system is set to use dollars. Excel comes in different languages, and will use the appropriate local currency. The button may change to the general currency symbol! You can also change the currency used with the Format dialog. You are not stuck with the default! The dialog is good to use when you want a different currency only some of the time.

Percent: formats the number as a percentage, like 100%.

Comma: formats the number to show 2 decimal places to the right of the decimal and uses commas to separate every 3 digits to the left of the decimal. Non-English versions of Excel may show a different button, the decimal. (Why doesn't the whole world do things the way I do?!)

Increase/Decrease Decimals: changes the number of places showing to the right of the decimal. The number is rounded when decreasing decimals. When increasing decimals, the original digits are shown, rounded to the number of decimal places you have chosen.

[Note to teachers: You may need to review percentages and rounding procedures with your students to be sure they understand those ideas.]

Numbers Home

Project 1: Excel Intro
    Interface
    Select & Navigate
    Common Tasks
     AutoSum
     Sort
     Chart Wizard
     Number Formats
    Summary
    Quiz
    Exercises

Project 2: Basics

Project 3: Format & Arrange

Project 4: Groups & Formulas

Project 5: Design

Search
Glossary
Appendix

Step-by-Step: Number Formats

What you will learn:

to change number formats
what each number format button does

Start with: (Excel open to budget.xls from resource files)

Number Formats: Currency

Select cells B7:B13.
Click the Currency button to apply the currency number format. Now your numbers look like dollars, if that is the default currency on your computer. In another project you will learn how to change the currency being used.

What changed:

Added $ to the far left of the cell
Added a decimal at the right of the whole numbers
Shows exactly 2 digits to the right of the decimal
(Since you are formatting whole numbers, this format adds 2 zeros.)
Commas divide groups of three digits to the left of the decimal.
The column widens automatically to show all the digits.

Number Formats: Percent

While B7:B13 is still selected, click the Percent button.

All the numbers are changed to percentages. Since these were large numbers, they look even larger as percentages.

What changed:

Removed $ and commas
Added % at the right
Moves the two digits that were at the right of the decimal.

Number Formats: Comma

While B7:B13 is still selected, click the Comma button.

What changed:

Removed % and moves those two digits back to the right of the decimal
Added commas to separate groups of 3 digits to the left of decimal
Shows 2 digits to the right of the decimal

Number Formats: Change Decimals

While B7:B13 is still selected, click the Increase Decimals button.

What changed:

Gained another digit to the right of the decimal.
The column automatically widened to show the new digits.

Click the Decrease Decimals button twice.

What changed:

Only one zero is left to the right of the decimal.
(The column width did not reduce its width.)

Close the workbook with File | Close or by clicking the Close button on the workbook window. Do not save changes!