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.

Why use number formats?

Number formats not only make your spreadsheet easier to read, but 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 formats

Just like other types of formatting, like 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:
 Go to the Home tab, click the Number Format drop-down menu in the Number group,
and select the desired format.

 Click one of the quick number-formatting commands below the drop-down menu.
You can also select the desired cells and press Ctrl+1 on your keyboard to access additional 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 correctly

There's more to number formatting than selecting cells and applying a format. Spreadsheets can
actually apply 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, then ensure that 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 nu
number formats in
action.

Percentage formats
One of the most helpful number formats is the percentage (%) format. It displays values as
percentages, like 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
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.

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 formats
Whenever 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, like 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, like 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 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,
like 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:

 10/12
 October
 October 12
 October 2016
 10/12/2016
 October 12, 2016
 2016
 October 12th

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 options

To 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, such as 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 not only changes the actual date in our cell
but also the way it's displayed.
Number formatting tips

Here are a few tips for getting the best results with number formatting:
 Apply number formatting to an entire column: If you're planning to use one column for a
certain type of data, like dates or percentages, you may find it easiest to select the entire
column by clicking the column letter and applying the desired number formatting. This
way, any data you add to this column in the future will already have the correct number
format. Note that the header row usually won't be affected by number formatting.

 Double-check your values after applying number formatting: If you apply number
formatting to existing data, you may have unexpected results. For example,
applying percentage (%) formatting to a cell with a value of 5 will give you 500%, not
5%. In this case, you'd need to retype the values correctly in each cell.
  If you reference a cell with number formatting in a formula, the spreadsheet may
automatically apply the same number formatting to the new cell. For example, if you use a
value with currency formatting in a formula, the calculated value will also use the currency
number format.

 If you want your data to appear exactly as entered, you'll need to use the text number
format. This format is especially good for numbers you don't want to perform calculations
with, like phone numbers, zip codes, or numbers that begin with 0, like 02415. For best
results, you may want to apply the text number format before entering data into these cells.

Increase Decimal and Decrease Decimal

The 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 Decimal and Decrease Decimal commands don't work with some number formats,
like Date and Fraction.

Challenge!
1. Open our practice workbook.
2. In cell D2, type today's date and press Enter.
3. Click cell D2 and verify that it is using a Date number format. Try changing it to a different
date format (for example, Long Date).
4. In cell D2, use the Format Cells dialog box to choose the 14-Mar-12 date format.
5. Change the sales tax rate in cell D8 to the Percentage format.
6. Apply the Currency format to all of column B.
7. In cell D8, use the Increase Decimal or Decrease Decimal command to change the number
of decimal places to one. It should now display 7.5%.
8. When you're finished, your spreadsheet should look like this: