Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Number Formatting Shortcuts.

Number Formatting Shortcuts

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 19, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


3

The typical way that people apply formatting to cells is to use the tools on the ribbons or to display the Format Cells dialog box and make formatting choices. For those who prefer to not remove their hands from the keyboard, however, Excel also provides a number of handy shortcuts you can use to format your cells.

Shortcut Effect
Ctrl+Shift+~ General format
Ctrl+Shift+! Number format with two decimal places and thousands separator
Ctrl+Shift+$ Currency format with two decimal places and negatives in parentheses
Ctrl+Shift+# Date format
Ctrl+Shift+@ Time format with minutes and am/pm
Ctrl+Shift+% Percentage format with no decimal places
Ctrl+Shift+^ Scientific notation with two decimal places

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10428) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Number Formatting Shortcuts.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Setting a Default Document Format

Word allows you to save your documents in a variety of different formats. You can specify the format when you actually ...

Discover More

Counting the Instances of a Text String

Sometimes it is helpful to know how often a particular phrase appears within a document. If you need to know such a ...

Discover More

Setting the Width for Row Labels

Excel displays, by default, a row label or heading at the left side of each row on the screen. As you scroll down the ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Converting Dates to Text

Need to use a date as part of a larger string of text? Here are some handy ways to go about the process.

Discover More

Identifying Merged Cells

Merging cells is a common task when creating worksheets. Merged cells can play havoc with the normal functioning of some ...

Discover More

Cannot Use Dotted Diagonal Borders

Excel allows you to apply borders to cells, including with the cells. However, understanding the effects of the borders ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 7 - 7?

2024-02-19 11:15:00

J-M J

It would be great to know these shortcuts for non-American keyboards! Does anybody knows if a "translation" exists somewhere (MS, for example ) ?
Thank you!


2020-07-28 05:50:53

Peter Atherton

Sholom

I think the quickest way is the using the mouse, but format to two decimal places and then use ALT + H + 9. This reduces by 1 dp. then repeat for the next.


2020-07-27 08:47:51

Sholom Michael

Nice tip! What's the quickest way to get the number format with no decimal places and thousands separator?


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.