Excel > Excel 2003 Foundation > Formatting a Worksheet

Formatting Values

Applying number formatting changes the appearance of the cell contents and not its value. This includes increasing or decreasing decimal places, formatting as a currency and formatting as a percentage.

Often Excel will apply the formatting for you. For example if I enter 20%, Excel will format the cell as a percentage.

To format values:

1. Select the cell(s) you wish to format
2. Click the formatting button you need from the Formatting toolbar

There are five number formatting buttons on the Formatting toolbar.

	Applies the default currency symbol and 2 decimal places
	Converts a fraction to a percentage e.g. .3 to 30%
	Apply a comma style to thousands
	Increases the number of decimal places by 1 each click
	Decrease the number of decimal places by 1 each click, rounding the number up or down as necessary

You can also format values by using the Format Cells dialogue box. Click Format > Cells and then the Number tab to display the Format Cells dialogue box, or press Ctrl + 1.

Formatting labels Cell alignment and orientation

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