Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. 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: Using Slashed Zeroes.

Using Slashed Zeroes

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 21, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016


5

For some printouts it may be beneficial to use a zero with a slash through it rather than the standard zero without a slash. There are several ways you can go about using the slashed zeroes. The first is to insert the Alt+0216 symbol, which is a capital O with a slash through it. There are two problems with this approach, however. First is that the symbol is just a bit wider than a regular zero, so it may look a bit funny. The second (and more serious) problem is that the symbol is not viewed as a number by Excel, so you can't use the values that include this symbol in your calculations.

A better solution is to simply change to a different font that uses a slashed zero in place of the regular zero. There are a number of such fonts that may already be installed on your system. Good candidates are the Terminal, WST_Engl, Fixedsys, Consolas, or Sydnie fonts. You'll need to experiment with whatever font you select; it may not be available in all the font sizes you expect.

If you cannot locate a suitable font on your own system, there are a number of free fonts available on the web. These are two places from which you can start your search:

http://thfonts.com/proggy-clean-slashed-zero
http://www.wm8c.com/slashed_zero_fonts.htm

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (11633) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Using Slashed Zeroes.

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. ...

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Comments

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What is two more than 4?

2022-08-11 13:47:59

Gary

Thank you for the Slashed Zero tip. I had been creating an image and using Paint to slash the zero.
Gary
S. Florida


2021-09-21 12:21:38

Mark

I clearly have the Terminal font in my system, but it's not available from the Excel menu?!


2017-08-28 14:52:36

David Gray

Since about 2005, my preferred fixed with font has been Consolas, but I had never noticed that its zeroes were slashed. I'll have to take a closer look the next time I have a chance.


2017-08-27 09:34:32

Philip

Erik, it's not the symbol for diameter (because that would have to be a perfect circle with a slash through it). It's a character from the scandinavian alphabet ...


2017-08-26 16:38:24

Erik

Alt+0216 (Ø) is actually the symbol for diameter. The slash sticks out both sides of the circle, whereas it doesn't on the number zero.


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