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: Returning Least-Significant Digits.

Returning Least-Significant Digits

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 23, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365


Glenn has a need to return the three least significant digits of a four-digit number and is wondering how this can best be done. As with many tasks in Excel, there are a number of ways you can derive the desired information. One way is to use the MOD function, in this manner:

=MOD(A1,1000)

This function divides the value in cell A1 by 1000 and then returns what is left over. Provided that the value in A1 is a four-digit integer, then you'll get the result you desire.

Another similar method of determining the desired values is to use a function that is normally used with text values:

=RIGHT(A1,3)

This returns the three right-most characters (digits) of whatever is in cell A1. If you think that it is possible that A1 could have some non-digit characters in it, then you should wrap the function in the VALUE function, like this:

=VALUE(RIGHT(A1,3))

Of course, it is very possible that any of the approaches discussed so far will give undesired results. While they work well if the value in A1 is an integer value, they don't work that well if the value is a real number, such as 12.36 or 105.2, having four significant digits. In these cases, you may want to use a formula such as the following:

=RIGHT(0.0001*A1,3)

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10785) 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: Returning Least-Significant Digits.

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

Maximum Length Limit for a Macro

Make your macros too long, and Excel may just refuse to run them at all. This tip explains what the limit is for macros, ...

Discover More

Making Sure Word Doesn't Capitalize Anything Automatically

Word, in an effort to be helpful, will often change the capitalization of the words you type. If you tire of Word's ...

Discover More

Counting with Formulas

When you need to count a number of cells based upon a single criteria, the standard function to use is COUNTIF. This tip ...

Discover More

Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2013 For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Counting Non-Blank Cells

Need to count the number of cells in a range that are not blank? You can use the COUNTA function of a more complex ...

Discover More

Formatting Canadian Postal Codes

Postal codes in Canada consist of six characters, separated into two groups. This tip explains the format and then shows ...

Discover More

Breaking Up Variable-Length Part Numbers

Part numbers can often be long, made up of other component elements. Breaking up part numbers into individual components ...

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 8 + 0?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


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.