Microsoft Excel 
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UNDERSTANDING FORMATTING 
 
 
 
 
  
 
In Excel there are always two aspects to a 
number: how the number presents on the screen 
(known as formatting) and the underlying value 
of the number. Take 2% as an example – on the 
screen it is formatted to appear as a number with a 
percentage sign, whereas the real value in the cell 
is .02. 
Number Formatting – The Veil Placed Over Numbers 
All calculations in Excel are performed using numbers – this is only logical. So, when you want to perform 
a calculation, you type the numbers in various cells, then create formulas to reference those numbers. 
How do you show what those numbers represent? For example, how do you show you are working with 
currency, or percentages, or even dates (which in Excel are really numbers)? 
Excel allows you to show these representations using number formatting. With number formatting you 
change the way a number looks so that it makes immediate sense to the reader of your worksheet. The 
underlying value of number, however, remains unchanged. For example, instead of showing sales tax in 
a worksheet as .1 you show it as 10%, to show 12889.95 as currency it would appears $12,889.95 or 
€12,889.95 (depending upon the currency you are working with), and to show 44104 as a date you show 
it as 30-Sep-2020 (remember, dates are actually numbers representing the number of days from January 
1, 1900). 
The following worksheet contains formatted numbers: 
With the formatting removed from the numbers the worksheet looks as follows: 
Formatting can also be applied as you type. For example, if you type 30/9/2020 Excel will place the 
number 44104 in the cell but will format this number as a date and show it as you typed it. There are also 
a range of number formatting options on the ribbon that allow you to apply formatting to numbers after 
they have been entered into a worksheet.