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: Using Slashed Zeroes.

Using Slashed Zeroes

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 14, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


For some printouts it may be beneficial to use a zero with a slash through it rather than the standard zero without a slash. There are several ways you can go about using the slashed zeroes. The first is to insert the Alt+216 symbol, which is a capital O with a slash through it. There are two problems with this approach, however. First is that the symbol is just a bit wider than a regular zero, so it may look a bit funny. The second (and more serious) problem is that the symbol is not viewed as a number by Excel, so you can't use the values that include this symbol in your calculations.

A better solution is to simply change to a different font that uses a slashed zero in place of the regular zero. There are any number of such fonts that may already be installed on your system. Good candidates are the Terminal, WST_Engl, Fixedsys, Consolas, or Sydnie fonts. You'll need to experiment with whatever font you select; it may not be available in all the font sizes you expect.

If you cannot locate a suitable font on your own system, there are any number of free fonts available on the web. These are places you can start your search:

http://code.google.com/p/i3project/wiki/Fonts
http://www.k8zt.com/zero.html
http://www.wm8c.com/slashed_zero_fonts.htm

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3835) 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: Using Slashed Zeroes.

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

Adding a Drop Shadow to a Text Box

One way to make your text boxes "stand off" the page is to add a drop shadow to them. This tip shows just how easy it is ...

Discover More

Retrieving the Last Value in a Column

Need to get at the last value in a column, regardless of how many cells are used within that column? You can apply the ...

Discover More

Hiding Formatting Changes in Track Changes

Word can easily (and handily) keep track of changes you make in your document. You may not want all your changes tracked, ...

Discover More

Program Successfully in Excel! This guide will provide you with all the information you need to automate any task in Excel and save time and effort. Learn how to extend Excel's functionality with VBA to create solutions not possible with the standard features. Includes latest information for Excel 2024 and Microsoft 365. Check out Mastering Excel VBA Programming today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Splitting Text to Multiple Cells

When processing data, you may have a need to split a long text string into shorter chunks of text consisting of whole ...

Discover More

Highlighting the Rows of Selected Cells

If you lose your place on the screen quite often, you might find it helpful to have not just a single cell highlighted, ...

Discover More

Understanding Names

Excel provides the ability to define names that refer to cells or ranges of cells. These can then be used in your ...

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.

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}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) 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 6 + 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.