Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 10, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
The most frequently used formatting codes are those that affect straight numbers. Excel provides many of them, as shown here:
| Symbol | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| General | Uses the general display format. | |
| # | Indicates a single-digit position. The digit is only displayed if there is a digit in that position. | |
| 0 | Indicates a single-digit position. If there is no digit in the position, a 0 is displayed. | |
| ? | Same as the 0 symbol, except results in a space being displayed for insignificant 0s on either side of the decimal point. | |
| . (period) | The decimal point. | |
| % | Percentage. The number is multiplied by 100 (for the display) and the % sign is added. | |
| , (comma) | Thousands separator (if surrounded by digit place holders) or a thousands scalar (if the comma follows all the place holders). | |
| E- E+ e- e+ | Displays in scientific format. | |
| $ - + / ( ) : space | Displays that character | |
| \ | Forces display of the following character | |
| * | Repeats the next character to fill out the column width. | |
| _ (underscore) | Leaves a space the width of the following character. | |
| "text" | Displays the text within the quotes. | |
| @ | Text place holder. |
To understand better what these codes do, take a look at the information in the following table, which shows several common formats and how they affect numbers.
| Category | Format | Value | Displayed As | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | #,##0.00 | .01 | 0.01 | |||
| .1 | 0.10 | |||||
| 1234 | 1,234.00 | |||||
| -5678 | -5,678.00 | |||||
| Percentage | 0.00% | .01 | 1.00% | |||
| .1 | 10.00% | |||||
| 1.234 | 123.40% | |||||
| -5.678 | -567.80% | |||||
| Scientific | 0.00E+00 | .01 | 1.00E-02 | |||
| .1 | 1.00E-01 | |||||
| 1234 | 1.23E+03 | |||||
| -5678 | -5.68E+03 | |||||
| Currency | $#,##0.00_);[Red]($#,##0.00) | .01 | $0.01 | |||
| .1 | $0.10 | |||||
| 1234 | $1,234.00 | |||||
| -5678 | ($5,678.00) |
No matter which format is used to display numbers, the actual accuracy of the number is not affected. Thus, if a number is displayed using two decimal places, it is still maintained internally to 15 decimal places. All calculations are performed using the more accurate internal representation.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (1939) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.
Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!
The error message "too many cell formats" can be difficult to fix. This tip describes ways you can attempt to get rid of ...
Discover MoreWant to change the attributes of your text (or what Excel refers to as font styles)? Here's how to do it.
Discover MoreExcel provides a couple of different ways to copy formatting from one cell to another. Perhaps the easiest way is to use ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2021-05-15 23:04:10
AnonymousGlitchExe14
*!(!$#*!*!#@&$_*#$#^#%#@!*!#@#!_^!(#_1&$*!_@!^!#@#@^@#@*!&$_&#$#$!$@*!&#__/__&__\__(!$#%#%#_&!@!(#_4_$!*!.-.-.-.--.-.- Each 2 symbols are a number ( example - @! = 21 <~ which this number is a single letter ) each set of 2 numbers represent a signal letter . The two digit number is in Ancient, Greek - Arminian & Iraq. All blended together to spell out a word. (Each underscore is a space between each word).. Have fun figuring it out.
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.
Comments