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: Dividing Values.

Dividing Values

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated March 2, 2019)

It is not uncommon to need to adjust values imported from a different program, once they are in Excel. For instance, you may need to divide all the imported values by 100, or by 1000, or by some other number.

There is an easy way to perform such an operation in Excel. Simply follow these steps:

  1. Select an empty cell, somewhere outside the range used by your imported data.
  2. Enter the value 100 or 1000 in the empty cell. (Use a value equal to what you want to divide by.)
  3. With the cell selected, press Ctrl+C to copy its contents to the Clipboard.
  4. Select the imported data range. You should not select any headers or non-numeric information.
  5. Choose the Paste Special option from the Edit menu. Excel displays the Paste Special dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

    6. Figure 1. The Paste Special dialog box.

  6. In the Operation area of the dialog box, make sure you select the Divide option.
  7. Click on OK.
  8. Select the cell where you entered the value in step 2.
  9. Press the Delete key.

That's it! All the values in your data range have been divided by the appropriate amount.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2658) 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: Dividing Values.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Understanding Sections

Sections are handy if you want to subdivide a document so you can apply different document formatting to those ...

Discover More

Creating a Workbook Clone

If you are afraid of messing up a workbook, consider doing your work on a clone of the workbook. Excel provides an easy ...

Discover More

Foul Water Odor

Got a foul odor coming from your water tap? It could be caused by a number of different issues, as discussed in this tip.

Discover More

Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Slow Excel Response Times

Many people use Excel on a notebook computer, so they can do work at the office and elsewhere. In some situations, Excel ...

Discover More

Zooming with the Keyboard

Excel doesn't provide a keyboard shortcut that allows you to zoom in or out on your workbook. It is easy, however, to ...

Discover More

Canceling a Menu

Want to cancel whatever menu command you started to use in Excel? The normal method is by pressing Esc, but this is not ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is nine more than 6?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

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.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2021 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.