Format Numbers

Instead of changing the format of the numbers through the “Home” tab in the “Ribbon”, it is better that you format the numbers in a “Pivot Table” with the “Value Field Settings” as this will prevent complications when we change or add data in our “Values” area.

Just click the downward pointing arrow next to the field in the “Values” (1) area and select “Value Field Settings” (2) from the pop-up menu. In this case, it is next to the “Total” field.

In the “Value Field Settings” that appears, click the “Number Format” (1) button. This opens the “Cells” dialog where the “Currencies” category is selected (2). In this dialog you also have the ability to change the number of decimal places, the currency symbol, and the appearance of negative numbers (3).

To change this formatting we choose the “Custom” category(4) in the dialog.

In the “Type” box, “Type” the format for the numbers. Starting with zero – comma – zero – zero – space – Euro sign. This will be the amount with two decimal places to be displayed (1). An example of how it will look, is seen above in the space provided for “Type”. If you want to accentuate the thousands you would type the formatting as it appears in the second image.

Click OK when you’re done, and then click OK again to close the first dialog box.
The result looks a lot easier to read from:

Featured Courses

• Downloading iPad Apps
• Lesson 1: Introduction to Publisher
• Lesson 65: File Formats