Formatting Numbers
Number formatting refers to the process of changing the appearance of values contained in cells. Excel provides a wide variety of number formatting options.
Values that you enter into cells are unformatted. They are simply a string of numerals. Your goal, of course is to format the numbers so they’re easier to read or are more consistent in terms of the decimal places shown.
Formatting Methods: There are two important ways to format data in cells.
Number formatting refers to the process of changing the appearance of values contained in cells. Excel provides a wide variety of number formatting options.
Values that you enter into cells are unformatted. They are simply a string of numerals. Your goal, of course is to format the numbers so they’re easier to read or are more consistent in terms of the decimal places shown.
Formatting Methods: There are two important ways to format data in cells.
- You can format cells using the Ribbon, Font and Number sections. We will focus on this method for this course.
- You can format cells using the Format Cells dialog box, which is more comprehensive.
Practice Exercise 11: Formatting Numbers
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STEP 1A: Add an additional sheet to your workbook. At the bottom of your cell area are your Sheets created thus far. Press the + symbol to create a new sheet. You should now see Sheet1 & Sheet2 (FIGURE 1).
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 FIGURE 1
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STEP 1B: To Rename a sheet, click on Sheet1, right-button mouse click it, select “Rename” (FIGURE 2).
STEP 1C: Rename Sheet1, “Formulas & AutoFill Table”. Press the Enter key. The renamed sheet should look like FIGURE 3. |
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STEP 2: Make cell A1 active.
Enter into the cell, 12.2% View the Ribbon Number section. Observe that cell A1 has been given a “Percentage” format designation (FIGURE 4). |
 FIGURE 4
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STEP 3: Make cell A2 active.
Enter into the cell, 1000 View the Ribbon Number section. Observe that cell A2 has been given a “General” format designation (FIGURE 5). |
 FIGURE 5
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STEP 4: Make cell A3 active.
Enter into the cell, 1,000 View the Ribbon Number section. Observe that cell A3 has been given a “Number” format designation (FIGURE 6). |
 FIGURE 6
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STEP 5: Make cell A4 active.
Enter into the cell $1000 View the Ribbon Number section. Observe that cell A4 has been given a “Currency” format designation (FIGURE 7). |
 FIGURE 7
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Step 6: Widen Column A to size of 15 (FIGURE 8).
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 FIGURE 8
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STEP 7: Make cell A5 active.
Enter into the cell $1000 Go to the Ribbon Number section and change the window to show “Accounting” by clicking on window arrowhead. Notice how the $ sign has moved over to the far left (FIGURE 9). Accounting formatting ensures that the $ sign and the decimal points will line up with numbers similarly formatted. |
 FIGURE 9
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STEP 8: Make cell A5 active (FIGURE 10).
Add Bold and Red Font formatting to cell. |
 FIGURE 10
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STEP 9: On the Ribbon Editing section, select “Clear“. Select the arrow; on drop down menu, select “Clear Formats” (FIGURE 11).
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 FIGURE 11
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STEP 10: Observe cell A5. Besides removing the Bold and Red Font, what else was removed? What does the Number formatting window reflect? (FIGURE 12)
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FIGURE 12
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STEP 11: We will rename Sheet2. To Rename it, click on Sheet2, right-button mouse click it, select “Rename” (FIGURE 13).
Enter “Number Formatting” (FIGURE 14). Press the Enter key. |
 FIGURE 13
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 FIGURE 14
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Section completed. Go to Module 5 Section 5.3 Practice Exercise 12; Saving Your Workbook