Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. 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.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 19, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365
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 Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Number Formatting Shortcuts.
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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?
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. 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:
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