Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Altering the Displayed Format of Numbers to the Nearest 100.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 11, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Frank asked if there is a way, using a custom number format, to round the display of numbers to the nearest 10, 100, etc., without affecting the original numbers.
The answer is that there is a way, and there isn't a way. (Don't you love those answers?) There are custom number formats that allow you to round the display to the nearest thousand or the nearest million, as follows:
[<=500] "0";#,"000" [<=500000] "0";#,,"000000"
The first format will round to the nearest thousand, and the second will round to the nearest million. If you are looking for a custom format that will round to some other power of 10, you are out of luck, however. In those instances, the best solution may be to simply create another worksheet that uses formulas for rounding and uses the contents of the original worksheet as the source.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (1937) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Altering the Displayed Format of Numbers to the Nearest 100.
Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2019 For Dummies today!
Need to replace the formats applied to some cells with a different format? Those using Excel 2003 will find it easy; ...
Discover MoreIf you have a range of numeric values in your worksheet, you may want to change them from numbers to text values. Here's ...
Discover MoreExcel provides a couple of different ways to copy formatting from one cell to another. Perhaps the easiest way is to use ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here:
Comments