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

Using the Same Range Name on Different Worksheets

Defined names can be a great boon when working in a worksheet. Usually names are available throughout an entire workbook, ...

Discover More

Sharing Your Workbook

Need to allow others to contribute to your Excel workbook? It's easy to do if you just share it. This tip provides an ...

Discover More

Converting to Automatic Endnotes

When you add endnotes to a document, they are automatically maintained and renumbered by Word, as necessary. If you get a ...

Discover More

Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Changing Fonts in Multiple Workbooks

If you need to change fonts used in a lot of different workbooks, the task can be daunting, if you need to do it ...

Discover More

Leaving Leading Zeros in Place

There are some numbers that require leading zeros, such as ZIP Codes. Excel provides several different ways that you can ...

Discover More

Accurate Font Sizes

Need to use some bizarre font size in your worksheet? Not a problem, provided it is a full or half point size.

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 seven more than 2?

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.