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. ...

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