How can you make excel automatically apply the currency format to a number you enter in a cell?
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Spreadsheets are often used to represent numbers that relate to currency and as a result you may want to change currency format in Excel on a regular basis. The easiest way to do this on a permanent basis is via the ‘Format cells’ option (right click on a cell and choose ‘Format cells’. However, sometimes you want the currency format to change depending on the contents of a cell e.g. if cell A1
says dollars I want row 1 to be formatted as US dollars. You can achieve this by using conditional formatting. One of the options you can use is to format the cells based on a formula and one of the format types is the Number format. This way by changing a single descriptive cell you can change the currency format. Subscribe to our YouTube channel- Today’s Excel Tip for the dayLesson 8: Understanding Number Formats/en/excel2016/formatting-cells/content/ What are number formats?Whenever you're working with a spreadsheet, it's a good idea to use appropriate number formats for your data. Number formats tell your spreadsheet exactly what type of data you're using, like percentages (%), currency ($), times, dates, and so on. Watch the video below to learn more about number formats in Excel. Why use number formats?Number formats don't just make your spreadsheet easier to read—they also make it easier to use. When you apply a number format, you're telling your spreadsheet exactly what types of values are stored in a cell. For example, the date format tells the spreadsheet that you're entering specific calendar dates. This allows the spreadsheet to better understand your data, which can help ensure that your data remains consistent and that your formulas are calculated correctly. If you don't need to use a specific number format, the spreadsheet will usually apply the general number format by default. However, the general format may apply some small formatting changes to your data. Applying number formatsJust like other types of formatting, such as changing the font color, you'll apply number formats by selecting cells and choosing the desired formatting option. There are two main ways to choose a number format:
You can also select the desired cells and press Ctrl+1 on your keyboard to access more number-formatting options. In this example, we've applied the Currency number format, which adds currency symbols ($) and displays two decimal places for any numerical values. If you select any cells with number formatting, you can see the actual value of the cell in the formula bar. The spreadsheet will use this value for formulas and other calculations. Using number formats correctlyThere's more to number formatting than selecting cells and applying a format. Spreadsheets can actually apply a lot of number formatting automatically based on the way you enter data. This means you'll need to enter data in a way the program can understand, and then ensure that those cells are using the proper number format. For example, the image below shows how to use number formats correctly for dates, percentages, and times: Now that you know more about how number formats work, we'll look at a few different number formats in action. Percentage formatsOne of the most helpful number formats is the percentage (%) format. It displays values as percentages, such as 20% or 55%. This is especially helpful when calculating things like the cost of sales tax or a tip. When you type a percent sign (%) after a number, the percentage number format will be be applied to that cell automatically. As you may remember from math class, a percentage can also be written as a decimal. So 15% is the same thing as 0.15, 7.5% is 0.075, 20% is 0.20, 55% is 0.55, and so on. You can review this lesson from our Math tutorials to learn more about converting percentages to decimals. There are many times when percentage formatting will be useful. For example, in the images below, notice how the sales tax rate is formatted differently for each spreadsheet (5, 5%, and 0.05): As you can see, the calculation in the spreadsheet on the left didn't work correctly. Without the percentage number format, our spreadsheet thinks we want to multiply $22.50 by 5, not 5%. And while the spreadsheet on the right still works without percentage formatting, the spreadsheet in the middle is easier to read. Date formatsWhenever you're working with dates, you'll want to use a date format to tell the spreadsheet that you're referring to specific calendar dates, such as July 15, 2014. Date formats also allow you to work with a powerful set of date functions that use time and date information to calculate an answer. Spreadsheets don't understand information the same way a person would. For instance, if you type October into a cell, the spreadsheet won't know you're entering a date so it will treat it like any other text. Instead, when you enter a date, you'll need to use a specific format your spreadsheet understands, such as month/day/year (or day/month/year depending on which country you're in). In the example below, we'll type 10/12/2014 for October 12, 2014. Our spreadsheet will then automatically apply the date number format for the cell. Now that we have our date correctly formatted, we can do many different things with this data. For example, we could use the fill handle to continue the dates through the column, so a different day appears in each cell: If the date formatting isn't applied automatically, it means the spreadsheet did not understand the data you entered. In the example below, we've typed March 15th. The spreadsheet did not understand that we were referring to a date, so this cell is still using the general number format. On the other hand, if we type March 15 (without the "th"), the spreadsheet will recognize it as a date. Because it doesn't include a year, the spreadsheet will automatically add the current year so the date will have all of the necessary information. We could also type the date several other ways, such as 3/15, 3/15/2014, or March 15 2014, and the spreadsheet would still recognize it as a date. Try entering the dates below into a spreadsheet and see if the date format is applied automatically:
If you want to add the current date to a cell, you can use the Ctrl+; shortcut, as shown in the video below. Other date formatting optionsTo access other date formatting options, select the Number Format drop-down menu and choose More Number Formats. These are options to display the date differently, like including the day of the week or omitting the year. The Format Cells dialog box will appear. From here, you can choose the desired date formatting option. As you can see in the formula bar, a custom date format doesn't change the actual date in our cell—it just changes the way it's displayed. Number formatting tipsHere are a few tips for getting the best results with number formatting:
Increase and Decrease DecimalThe Increase Decimal and Decrease Decimal commands allow you to control how many decimal places are displayed in a cell. These commands don't change the value of the cell; instead, they display the value to a set number of decimal places. Decreasing the decimal will display the value rounded to that decimal place, but the actual value in the cell will still be displayed in the formula bar. The Increase/Decrease Decimal commands don't work with some number formats, like Date and Fraction. Challenge!
/en/excel2016/working-with-multiple-worksheets/content/ How do you automatically change currency in Excel?On the Home tab, click the Dialog Box Launcher next to Number. Tip: You can also press Ctrl+1 to open the Format Cells dialog box. In the Format Cells dialog box, in the Category list, click Currency or Accounting. In the Symbol box, click the currency symbol that you want.
How do I automatically format data in Excel?Using AutoFormat Option to Quickly Format Data. Select the entire data set.. Click on the AutoFormat icon in the Quick Access Toolbar.. In the dialog box, you will find 16 different kinds of formatting design. Select the one you want to apply.. Click OK.. How do you keep currency format in Excel?How to Concatenate and Keep Currency Format in Excel (3 Methods). Method 1: Apply Format Cell Option and Keep Currency Format.. Method 2: Use the Ampersand (&) Symbol to Keep Currency Format.. Method 3: Perform the TEXTJOIN Function to Keep Currency Format.. How do you apply a custom format to a cell in place of cell value?Apply a custom number format. Select the cell or range of cells that you want to format.. On the Home tab, under Number, on the Number Format pop-up menu. , click Custom.. In the Format Cells dialog box, under Category, click Custom.. At the bottom of the Type list, select the built-in format that you just created. ... . Click OK.. |
