Introduction

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

• Format the display of numbers
• Format the date
• Format the time
• Format the display of percentages

Formatting numbers in the Format Cells dialog box

Numbers in Excel can assume many different formats: date, time, percentage, or decimals.

To format the appearance of numbers in a cell:

• Select a cell or range of cells.
• Choose Format Cells from the menu bar.
  
  
  
  (You could also right-click and choose Format Cells from the shortcut menu.)
• The Format Cells dialog box opens.
• Click the Number tab.
  
  
• Click Number in the Category drop-down list.
  
  
• Use the Decimal places scroll bar to select the number of decimal places (e.g., two would display 13.50, three would display 13.500).
• Click the Use 1000 Separator box if you want commas (1,000) inserted in the number.
• Use the Negative numbers drop-down list to indicate how numbers less than zero are to be displayed.
• Click the OK button.

Formatting date in the Format Cells dialog box

The date can be formatted in many different ways in Excel 2003. Here are a few ways it can appear:

October 6, 2003
10/06/03
10-Oct-03

To format the appearance of a date in a cell:

• Select a cell or range of cells.
• Choose Format Cells from the menu bar.
• The Format Cells dialog box opens.
• Click the Number tab.
• Click Date in the Category drop-down list.
  
  
• Select the desired date format from the Type drop-down list.
• Click the OK button.

Formatting time in the Format Cells dialog box

The time can be formatted in many different ways in Excel 2003. Here are a few ways it can appear:

13:30
1:30 PM

To format the appearance of time in a cell:

• Select the range of cells you want to format.
• Choose Format Cells from the menu bar.
• The Format Cells dialog box opens.
• Click the Number tab.
• Click Time in the Category drop-down list.
  
  
• Select the desired time format from the Type drop-down list.
• Click the OK button.

Formatting percentages in the Format Cells dialog box

There may be times you want to display certain numbers as a percentage. For example, what percentage of credit cards bills account for your total monthly expenses?

To express numbers as percentages in a spreadsheet:

• Select a cell or range of cells.
  
  
• Choose Format Cells from the menu bar.
• The Format Cells dialog box opens.
• Click the Number tab.
• Click Percentage in the Category drop-down list.
  
  
• Define the Decimal Places that will appear to the right of each number.
• Click the OK button.
  
  

Challenge!

• Open your Monthly Budget file.
• Format the numbers in the spreadsheet as Currency without the $ symbol.
• Fill the formula from B19 to C19 through N19. This text will appear in cell 19 of columns D through N because expenses have not been entered for those columns yet.
• Select row 19, and format the numbers as a percent with no decimal places.An example:
• Save and close the document.