Microsoft Office

Part I
Getting Started with Excel
TIP
A handy default feature in Excel makes entering percentage values into cells easier. If a cell is
formatted to display as a percent, you can simply enter a normal value (for example 12.5 for
12.5%). If this feature isn’t working (or if you prefer to enter the actual value for percents), access the Excel
Options dialog box and click the Advanced tab. In the Editing Options section, locate the check box labeled
Enable Automatic Percent Entry, and remove the check mark.
Formatting numbers by using the Ribbon
The Home ➪ Number group in the Ribbon contains controls that let you quickly apply common number
formats (see Figure 3.9).
FIGURE 3.9
You can find number formatting commands in the Number group of the Home tab.
The Number Format drop-down list contains 11 common number formats. Additional options include an
Accounting Number Format drop-down list (to select a currency format), plus a Percent Style and a Comma
Style button. In addition, the group contains a button to increase the number of decimal places, and
another to decrease the number of decimal places.
When you select one of these controls, the active cell takes on the specified number format. You also can
select a range of cells (or even an entire row or column) before clicking these buttons. If you select more
than one cell, Excel applies the number format to all the selected cells.
Using shortcut keys to format numbers
Another way to apply number formatting is to use shortcut keys. Table 3.1 summarizes the shortcut-key
combinations that you can use to apply common number formatting to the selected cells or range. Notice
that these Ctrl+Shift characters are all located together, in the upper left part of your keyboard.
TABLE 3.1
Key Combination
Ctrl+Shift+~
Ctrl+Shift+$
Ctrl+Shift+%
Ctrl+Shift+^
Ctrl+Shift+#
Ctrl+Shift+@
Ctrl+Shift+!
Number-Formatting Keyboard Shortcuts
Formatting Applied
General number format (that is, unformatted values)
Currency format with two decimal places (negative numbers appear in parentheses)
Percentage format, with no decimal places
Scientific notation number format, with two decimal places
Date format with the day, month, and year
Time format with the hour, minute, and AM or PM
Two decimal places, thousands separator, and a hyphen for negative values
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