Microsoft Office

Using Custom Number
Formats
When you enter a number into a cell, you can display that number in a
variety of different formats. Excel has quite a few built-in number formats,
but you may find that none of them suit your needs.
This chapter describes how to create custom number formats and provides many
examples that you can use as-is or adapt to your needs.
About Number Formatting
By default, all cells use the General number format. This format is basically “what
you type is what you get.” But if the cell isn’t wide enough to show the entire number,
the General format rounds numbers with decimals and uses scientific notation
for large numbers. In many cases, the General number format works just fine. But
most people prefer to specify a different number format for consistency.
The key thing to remember about number formatting is that it affects only how a
value is displayed. The actual number remains intact, and any formulas that use
a formatted number use the actual number.
An exception to this rule occurs if you specify the Set Precision As
Displayed option in the Advanced tab in the Excel Options dialog
box. If that option is in effect, formulas use the values that are actually displayed
in the cells. In general, using this option is not a good idea because it changes the
underlying values in your worksheet.
NOTE
One more thing to keep in mind: If you use Excel’s Find And Replace dialog box
(displayed by choosing Home ➪ Editing ➪ Find & Select ➪ Find, characters
that are displayed as a result of number formatting (for example, a currency symbol)
are not searchable.
IN THIS CHAPTER
An overview of custom number
formatting
How to create a custom number
format
A list of all custom number
format codes
Examples of custom number
formats
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