Entering decimal points automatically

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If you need to enter lots of numbers with a fixed number of decimal places, there are several different options you can use in Excel:

Note: Applying a number format to a cell doesn't change the value, but only how the value shows in the spreadsheet:

The displaying of rounding in Excel 365

See How to avoid misleading numbers and Different rounding effects in Excel.


Use the Increase Decimal and Decrease Decimal buttons

To increase or decrease the displayed number of decimal places for the selected cells, on the Home tab, in the Number group, click the Increase Decimal or Decrease Decimal buttons:

Increase Decimal and Decrease Decimal buttons in Excel 365

Each click on the appropriate button adds or removes one decimal place.

So, you can select an entire spreadsheet and set up as many decimal places as you need.


Format cells

To format selected cells, do the following:

   1.   Do one of the following:

  • Right-click on the selection and choose Format Cells... in the popup menu:
    Format cells in popup menu Excel 365
  • On the Home tab, in the Number group, click the dialog box launcher:
    Format cells in Excel 365
  • Press Ctrl+1.

   2.   In the Format Cells dialog box, on the Number tab, in the Category list, depending on the type of data you have, for the Number, Currency, Accounting, Percentage, or Scientific item (see the number formats for more details), in the Decimal places field, select or type the number you need:

Decimal places for Number formats in Excel 365

Set a default decimal places number in Excel

It is possible to customize Excel to display any number of decimal places instead of the default 2 decimal places.

For example, if you enter 2 in the Places box and then type 1234 in a cell, the value will be 12.34. If you enter -2 in the Places box and then type 1234, the value will be 123400.

To change the fixed-decimal-places option, do the following:

   1.   On the File tab, click the Options button:

Excel 365 Options

   2.   On the Advanced tab, under Editing options, select the Automatically insert a decimal point checkbox:

Excel 365 decimal point options

   3.   In the Places box, enter a positive number for digits to the right of the decimal point or a negative number for digits to the left of the decimal point.

Attention! The fixed-decimal-places option is a global setting and applies to all workbooks (not just the active workbook). If you forget that this option is turned on, you can quickly end up entering incorrect values.

The Fixed Decimal indicator appears in the status bar:

Excel 365 status bar

Note: The change will not affect data entered before the new decimal places value was set.

See also this tip in French: Comment changer un nombre fixe décimales.

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