Formatting Cells

All cell content uses the same formatting by default,

which can make it difficult to read a workbook with a lot
of information. Basic formatting can customize the look
and feel of your workbook, allowing you to draw
attention to specific sections and making your content 2. Click the drop-down arrow next to
easier to view and understand. You can also the Font Size command on
apply number formatting to tell Excel exactly what type the Home tab. The Font Size drop-
of data you’re using in the workbook, such as down menu will appear.
percentages (%), currency ($), and so on 3. Select the desired font size. A live
preview of the new font size will
To change the font: appear as you hover the mouse over
By default, the font of each new workbook is set to different options. In our example, we
Calibri. However, Excel provides many other fonts you will choose 16 to make the text larger.
can use to customize your cell text. In the example
below, we'll format our title cell to help distinguish it
from the rest of the worksheet.
1. Select the cell(s) you want to modify.

4. The text will change to the selected

font size.
2. Click the drop-down arrow next to
the Font command on the Home tab.
The Font drop-down menu will appear.
3. Select the desired font. A live
preview of the new font will appear as
you hover the mouse over different You can also use the Increase Font Size and Decrease
options. In our example, we'll Font Size commands or enter a custom font size using
choose Georgia. your keyboard.

To change the font color:

1. Select the cell(s) you want to modify.
4. The text will change to the selected
font.

2. Click the drop-down arrow next to

When creating a workbook in the workplace, you'll want the Font Color command on
to select a font that is easy to read. Along with Calibri, the Home tab. The Color menu will
standard reading fonts include Cambria, Times New appear.
Roman, and Arial. 3. Select the desired font color. A live
preview of the new font color will
To change the font size: appear as you hover the mouse over
1. Select the cell(s) you want to modify.
 different options. In our example, we'll You can also press Ctrl+B on your keyboard to make
choose Green. selected text bold, Ctrl+I to apply italics, and Ctrl+U to
apply an underline.

Text alignment
By default, any text entered into your worksheet will be
aligned to the bottom-left of a cell, while any numbers
will be aligned to the bottom-right. Changing
the alignment of your cell content allows you to choose
how the content is displayed in any cell, which can make
your cell content easier to read.
Click the arrows in the slideshow below to learn more
about the different text alignment options.
4. The text will change to the selected

font color.

Left align: Aligns content to the

left border of the cell

Select More Colors at the bottom of the menu to access
additional color options.

Center align: Aligns content an

equal distance from the left and
right borders of the cell


Right Align: Aligns content to the

right border of the cell
To use the Bold, Italic, and Underline commands:

1. Select the cell(s) you want to modify.

Top Align: Aligns content to the

top border of the cell
2. Click the Bold (B), Italic (I), or Underline 
(U) command on the Home tab. In our
example, we'll make the selected
cells bold.
Middle Align: Aligns content an
equal distance from the top and
bottom borders of the cell

3. The selected style will be applied to the
text.

Bottom Align: Aligns content to

the bottom border of the cell
 worksheet. Below, we'll add cell borders and fill color to
To change horizontal text alignment: our header cells to help distinguish them from the rest
In our example below, we'll modify the alignment of of the worksheet.
our title cell to create a more polished look and further To add a border:
distinguish it from the rest of the worksheet. 1. Select the cell(s) you want to modify.
1. Select the cell(s) you want to modify.

2. Click the drop-down arrow next to

2. Select one of the three horizontal the Borders command on
alignment commands on the Home tab. The Borders drop-down
the Home tab. In our example, we'll menu will appear.
choose Center Align. 3. Select the border style you want to use.
In our example, we will choose to
display All Borders.

3. The text will realign.

To change vertical text alignment: 4. The selected border style will appear.

1. Select the cell(s) you want to modify.

You can draw borders and change the line

2. Select one of the three vertical style and color of borders with the Draw Borders tools
alignment commands on at the bottom of the Borders drop-down menu.
the Home tab. In our example, we'll
choose Middle Align.

To add a fill color:

1. Select the cell(s) you want to modify.

3. The text will realign.

2. Click the drop-down arrow next to

You can apply both vertical and horizontal alignment the Fill Color command on
settings to any cell. the Home tab. The Fill Color menu will
appear.
Cell borders and fill colors 3. Select the fill color you want to use.
Cell borders and fill colors allow you to create clear and A live preview of the new fill color will
defined boundaries for different sections of your appear as you hover the mouse over
 different options. In our example, we'll
choose Light Green.

3. The selected cell style will appear.

4. The selected fill color will appear in the

selected cells.

Applying a cell style will replace any existing cell

formatting except for text alignment. You may not want
to use cell styles if you've already added a lot of
formatting to your workbook.

Format Painter Formatting text and numbers

If you want to copy formatting from One of the most powerful tools in Excel is the ability to
one cell to another, you can use apply specific formatting for text and numbers. Instead
the Format Painter command on of displaying all cell content in exactly the same way, you
the Home tab. When you click the can use formatting to change the appearance
Format Painter, it will copy all of the of dates, times, decimals, percentages
formatting from the selected cell. (%), currency ($), and much more.
You can then click and drag over
any cells you want to paste the formatting to. To apply number formatting:
In our example, we'll change the number format for
Cell styles several cells to modify the way dates are displayed.
Instead of formatting cells manually, you can use 1. Select the cells(s) you want to modify.
Excel's predesigned cell styles. Cell styles are a quick
way to include professional formatting for different parts
of your workbook, such as titles and headers. 2. Click the drop-down arrow next to
the Number Format command on
To apply a cell style: the Home tab. The Number
In our example, we'll apply a new cell style to our Formatting drop-down menu will
existing title and header cells. appear.
1. Select the cell(s) you want to modify. 3. Select the desired formatting option.
In our example, we will change the
formatting to Long Date.

2. Click the Cell Styles command on

the Home tab, then choose the desired
style from the drop-down menu. In our
example, we'll choose Accent 1.
4. The selected cells will change to
the new formatting style. For some
number formats, you can then use
the Increase Decimal and Decrease
Decimal commands (below the
Number Format command) to change
the number of decimal places that are
displayed.
 The Excel Accounting format provides only the first two
Format Cells dialog in Excel of the above options, negative numbers are always
The Format Cells dialog window has six tabs that provide
displayed in parentheses:
different formatting options for the selected cells. To
find more about each tab, click on the corresponding
link:
 Number
 Alignment
 Font
 Border
 Fill
 Protection
Number tab - apply a specific format to numeric values
Use this tab to apply the desired format in terms of
number, date, currency, time, percentage, fraction,
scientific notation, accounting number format or text.
The available formatting options vary depending on the
selected Category.
Excel Number format
For numbers, you can change the following options:
Both Currency and Accounting formats are used to
 How many decimal places to display.
display monetary values. The difference is as follows:
 Show or hide the thousands separator.
 The Excel Currency format places the currency symbol
 Specific format for negative numbers.
immediately before the first digit in the cell.
 The Excel Accounting number format aligns the
By default, the Excel Number format aligns values right
currency symbol on the left and the values on the right,
in cells.
zeros as displayed as dashes.

Tip. Under Sample, you can view a life preview of how

the number will be formatted on the sheet.

Tip. Some of the most often used Accounting format

options are also available on the ribbon. For more
details, please see Accounting format options on the
ribbon.

Date and Time formats

Microsoft Excel provides a variety of
predefined Date and Time formats for different locales:

Currency and Accounting formats

The Currency format lets you configure the following
three options:
 The number of decimal places to display
 The currency symbol to use
 The format to apply to negative numbers
Tip. To quickly apply the default currency format with
2 decimal places, select the cell or range of cells and
press the Ctrl+Shift+$ shortcut.
Percentage format
The Percentage format displays the cell value with a
percent symbol. The only option that you can change is
the number of decimal places.
To quickly apply the Percentage format with no decimal
places, use the Ctrl+Shift+% shortcut.
Note. If you apply the Percentage format to the existing
numbers, the numbers will be multiplied by 100.
For more information, please see How to show
percentages in Excel.

Fraction format
This format lets you choose from a variety of the built-in
fraction styles:

To quickly apply the default Excel Scientific notation

format with 2 decimal places, press Ctrl+Shift+^ on the
keyboard.

Excel Text format

When a cell is formatted as Text, Excel will treat the cell
value as a text string, even if you input a number or date.
By default, the Excel Text format aligns values left in a
cell. When applying the Text format to selected cells via
the Format Cells dialog window, there is no option to be
Note. When typing a fraction in a cell that is not changed.
formatted as Fraction, you may have to type a zero and a Please keep in mind that the Excel Text format applied
space before the fractional part. For example, if you type to numbers or dates prevents them from being used in
1/8 is a cell formatted as General, Excel will convert it to Excel functions and calculations. Numerical values
a date (08-Jan). To input the fraction, type 0 1/8 in the formatted as text force little green triangle to appear in
cell. the top-left corner of the cells indicating that something
might be wrong with the cell format. And if your
Scientific format seemingly correct Excel formula is not working or
The Scientific format (also referred to returning a wrong result, one of the first things to check
as Standard or Standard Index form ) is a compact way to is numbers formatted as text.
display very large or very small numbers. It is commonly To fix text-numbers, setting the cell format to General or
used by mathematicians, engineers, and scientists. Number is not sufficient. The easiest way to convert text
For example, instead of writing 0.0000000012, you can to number is select the problematic cell(s), click the
write 1.2 x 10-9. And if you apply the Excel Scientific warning sign that appears, and then click Convert to
notation format to the cell containing 0.0000000012, the Number in the pop-up menu. A few other methods are
number will be displayed as 1.2E-09. described in How to convert text-formatted digits to
When using the Scientific notation format in Excel, the number.
only option that you can set is the number of decimal
places: Special format
The Special format lets you display numbers in the
format customary for zip codes, phone numbers and
 social security numbers: The below screenshot shows the default Alignment tab
settings:

Custom format
If none of the inbuilt formats displays the data the way
you want, you can create your own format for numbers,
dates and times. You can do this either by modifying one Worksheet Basics
of the predefined formats close to your desired result, or
by using the formatting symbols in your own Every workbook contains at least one worksheet by
combinations. In the next article, we will provide the default. When working with a large amount of data, you
detailed guidance and examples to create a custom can create multiple worksheets to help organize your
number format in Excel. workbook and make it easier to find content. You can
Alignment tab - change alignment, position and also group worksheets to quickly add information to
direction multiple worksheets at the same time.
As its name suggests, this tab lets you change text
alignment in a cell. Additionally, it provides a number of To rename a worksheet:
other options, including: Whenever you create a new Excel workbook, it will
 Align the cell contents horizontally, vertically, or contain one worksheet named Sheet1. You can rename
centered. Also, you can center the value across a worksheet to better reflect its content. In our example,
selection (a great alternative to merging cells!) we will create a training log organized by month.
or indent from any edge of the cell. 1. Right-click the worksheet you want to
 Wrap text into multiple lines depending on the column rename, then select Rename from
width and the length of the cell contents. the worksheet menu.
 Shrink to fit - this option automatically reduces the
apparent font size so that all data in a cell fits in the 2. Type the desired name for the
column without wrapping. The real font size applied to a worksheet.
cell is not changed.
 Merge two or more cells into a single cell. 3. Click anywhere outside of the
 Change the text direction to define reading order and worksheet, or press Enter on your
alignment. The default setting is Context, but you can keyboard. The worksheet will
change it to Right-to-Left or Left-to-Right. be renamed.
 Change the text orientation. A positive number input in
the Degrees box rotates the cell contents from lower left To insert a new worksheet:
to upper right, and a negative degree performs the 1. Locate and select the New
rotation from upper left to lower right. This option may sheet button.
not be available if other alignment options are selected
for a given cell.
 2. A new blank worksheet will appear.

To copy a worksheet:
If you need to duplicate the content of one worksheet
to another, Excel allows you to copy an existing
worksheet.
1. Right-click the worksheet you want to
copy, then select Move or Copy from
To change the default number of worksheets, navigate
the worksheet menu.
to Backstage view, click Options, then choose the
desired number of worksheets to include in each new
workbook.

To delete a worksheet: 2. The Move or Copy dialog box will

1. Right-click the worksheet you want to appear. Choose where the sheet will
delete, then select Delete from appear in the Before sheet: field. In our
the worksheet menu. example, we'll choose (move to
end) to place the worksheet to the right
of the existing worksheet.
3. Check the box next to Create a copy,
then click OK.

2. The worksheet will be deleted from

your workbook.

4. The worksheet will be copied. It will

have the same title as the original
worksheet, as well as
If you want to prevent specific worksheets from being a version number. In our example, we
edited or deleted, you can protect them by right- copied the January worksheet, so our
clicking the desired worksheet and then new worksheet is named January (2).
selecting Protect sheet from the worksheet menu. All content from the January worksheet
has also been copied to the January (2)
worksheet.
 To change the worksheet tab color:
You can change a worksheet tab's color to help organize
your worksheets and make your workbook easier to
navigate.
1. Right-click the desired worksheet tab,
and hover the mouse over Tab Color.
The Color menu will appear.
2. Select the desired color. A live
preview of the new worksheet tab color
You can also copy a worksheet to an entirely
will appear as you hover the mouse
different workbook. You can select any workbook that is
over different options. In our example,
currently open from the To book: drop-down menu.
we'll choose Red.

3. The worksheet tab color will

be changed.

To move a worksheet:
Sometimes you may want to move a worksheet to
rearrange your workbook. The worksheet tab color is considerably less
1. Select the worksheet you want to noticeable when the worksheet is selected. Select
move. The cursor will become another worksheet to see how the color will appear
when the worksheet is not selected.
a small worksheet icon .
2. Hold and drag the mouse until a small
black arrow appears above the
desired location.

Switching between worksheets

If you want to view a different worksheet, you can
simply click the tab to switch to that worksheet.
3. Release the mouse. The worksheet will However, with larger workbooks this can sometimes
be moved. become tedious, as it may require scrolling through all of
the tabs to find the one you want. Instead, you can
simply right-click the scroll arrows in the lower-left
corner, as shown below.

A dialog box will appear with a list of all of the sheets in 4. Release the Ctrl key. The worksheets are
your workbook. You can then double-click the sheet now grouped.
you want to jump to.
While worksheets are grouped, you can navigate to any
worksheet within the group. Any changes made to one
worksheet will appear on every worksheet in the group.
However, if you select a worksheet that is not in the
group, all of your worksheets will become ungrouped.

To ungroup all worksheets:

1. Right-click a worksheet in the group,
then select Ungroup Sheets from
the worksheet menu.

Grouping and ungrouping worksheets

You can work with each worksheet individually, or you
can work with multiple worksheets at the same time.
Worksheets can be combined together into a group.
Any changes made to one worksheet in a group will be
made to every worksheet in the group.

To group worksheets:
2. The worksheets will be ungrouped.
In our example, employees need to receive training every
Alternatively, you can simply click any
three months, so we'll create a worksheet group for
worksheet not included in the group
those employees. When we add the names of the
to ungroup all worksheets.
employees to one worksheet, they'll be added to the
other worksheets in the group as well.
1. Select the first worksheet you want to
include in the worksheet group.

Page Layout
Many of the commands you'll use to prepare your
workbook for printing and PDF export can be found on
2. Press and hold the Ctrl key on your
the Page Layout tab. These commands let you control
keyboard.
the way your content will appear on a printed page,
3. Select the next worksheet you want in
including the page orientation and margin size. Other
the group. Continue to select
page layout options, such
worksheets until all of the worksheets
as print titles and page breaks, can help make your
you want to group are selected.
workbook easier to read.

Page Layout view

Before you start modifying a workbook's page layout,
you may want to view the workbook in Page Layout
view, which can help you visualize your changes.
  To access Page Layout view, locate and 3. The page orientation of the workbook
select the Page Layout view command will be changed.
in the bottom-right corner of your
workbook. To format page margins:
A margin is the space between your content and the
edge of the page. By default, every workbook's margins
are set to Normal, which is a one-inch space between
the content and each edge of the page. Sometimes you
may need to adjust the margins to make your data fit
Page orientation more comfortably on the page. Excel includes a variety
Excel offers two page orientation of predefined margin sizes.
options: landscape and portrait. Landscape orients the 1. Click the Page Layout tab
page horizontally, while portrait orients the on the Ribbon, then
page vertically. Portrait is especially helpful for select
worksheets with a lot of rows, while landscape is best for the Margins command.
worksheets with a lot of columns. In the example below, 2. Select the desired margin
portrait orientation works best because the worksheet size from the drop-down
includes more rows than columns. menu. In our example,
we'll select Narrow to fit
more of our content on
the page.

3. The margins will be

changed to the selected
size.

To use custom margins:

Excel also allows you to customize the size of your
margins in the Page
Setup dialog box.
1. From the Page
To change page orientation: Layout tab,
1. Click the Page Layout tab on click Margins.
the Ribbon. Select Custom
2. Select the Orientation command, then Margins... from the
choose drop-down menu.
either Portrait or Landscape from the
drop-down menu. 2. The Page
Setup dialog box
will appear.
3. Adjust the values
for each margin,
then click OK.
 Select the row(s) you want to repeat at
the top of each printed page. In our
example, we'll select row 1.

5. Row 1 will be added to the Rows to

repeat at top: field. Click the Collapse
Dialog button again.

4. The margins of the workbook will be 6. The Page Setup dialog box will expand.
changed. Click OK. Row 1 will be printed at the
top of every page.
To include Print Titles:
If your worksheet uses title headings, it's important to
include these headings on each page of your printed
worksheet. It would be difficult to read a printed
workbook if the title headings appeared only on the first
page. The Print Titles command allows you to select
specific rows and columns to appear on each page.
1. Click the Page Layout tab on
the Ribbon, then select the Print
Titles command.

2. The Page Setup dialog box will appear.

From here, you can
choose rows or columns to repeat on
each page. In our example, we'll repeat To insert a page break:
a row. If you need to print different parts of your workbook
3. Click the Collapse Dialog button next across separate pages, you can insert a page break.
to the Rows to repeat at top: field. There are two types of page
breaks: vertical and horizontal. Vertical page breaks
separate columns, while horizontal page breaks separate
rows. In our example, we'll insert a horizontal page
break.
1. Locate and select the Page Break
view command. The worksheet will
appear in Page Break view.

2. Select the row below where you want

the page break to appear. For example,
if you want to insert a page break
between rows 28 and 29, select row 29.
4. The cursor will become a
small selection arrow and the Page
Setup dialog box will be collapsed.
 To insert headers and footers:
You can make your workbook easier to read and look
more professional by including headers and footers.
The header is a section of the workbook that appears in
the top margin, while the footer appears in the bottom
margin. Headers and footers generally contain
information such as page number, date, and workbook
name.
1. Locate and select the Page Layout
view command at the bottom of the
Excel window. The worksheet will
appear in Page Layout view.

3. Click the Page Layout tab on 2. Select the header or footer you want to

the Ribbon, select modify. In our example, we'll modify
the Breaks command, then click Insert the footer at the bottom of the page.
Page Break.

4. The page break will be inserted, 3. The Header & Footer Tools tab will
represented by a dark blue line. appear on the Ribbon. From here, you
can access commands that will
automatically include page numbers,
dates, and workbook names. In our
example, we'll add page numbers.

4. The footer will change to include page

When viewing your workbook in Normal view, inserted numbers automatically.
page breaks are represented by a solid gray line, while
automatic page breaks are represented by a dashed
line.

Excel uses the same tools as Microsoft Word to modify

headers and footers.