Formatting Worksheet & Numbers
Formatting in Excel is the process of changing the appearance of cells and their content without changing the actual data value. It makes reports professional and easier to analyze.
1. Font and Alignment Formatting
The Home tab contains two critical groups: Font and Alignment.
- Font Styling: Includes changing Font type (e.g., Calibri to Arial), Size, Color, and Styles like Bold (Ctrl+B), Italic (Ctrl+I), and Underline (Ctrl+U).
- Borders & Fill: Adding gridlines around cells and background colors (Fill) to highlight headers.
- Alignment: Controlling how text sits inside a cell (Left, Center, Right, Top, Middle, Bottom).
Text Control Features:
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2. Formatting Numbers
Numbers in Excel can represent money, dates, or percentages. The Number Format dropdown on the Home tab is used to change this.
| Format Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Number | Basic numeric display with fixed decimal places. | 1500.00 |
| Currency | Adds a local currency symbol (₹, $) and comma separators. | ₹ 1,500.00 |
| Accounting | Similar to currency, but aligns symbols and decimals for better reading. | $ 1,500.00 |
| Percentage | Multiplies the value by 100 and adds a % sign. | 0.15 → 15% |
| Date | Converts a numeric value into a readable calendar date. | 45321 → 31-Jan-2024 |
3. Format Painter
The Format Painter is a tool that allows you to copy the formatting (not the data) from one cell and apply it to others instantly.
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Exam Pattern Questions and Answers
Question 1: "Differentiate between Currency and Accounting formats in Excel." (4 Marks)
Answer: Although both formats add currency symbols and decimal places, they differ in visual display:
- Symbol Alignment: In Currency format, the symbol (₹/$) sits directly next to the number. In Accounting format, the symbol is aligned to the left edge of the cell while the number is aligned to the right.
- Zero Display: Accounting format often displays a zero value ($0.00) as a simple dash (—), which makes financial ledgers easier to read, whereas Currency format shows the numeric zero.
- Decimals: Accounting aligns decimal points vertically in a column, making it superior for professional balance sheets.
Question 2: "What is the 'Merge & Center' feature? Write its limitation." (4 Marks)
Answer: Merge & Center is a feature used to combine multiple adjacent cells into a single, larger cell and automatically center the content within it. It is primarily used for creating main titles for spreadsheets.
Limitation: If you merge multiple cells that all contain data, only the data in the top-left cell will be kept. The data in all other cells will be deleted. Additionally, merging can make it difficult to sort or filter data and perform advanced calculations in that range.
Summary
- Formatting changes appearance, not the underlying value.
- Wrap Text is for long sentences; Merge & Center is for titles.
- Ctrl + 1 is the ultimate shortcut for the Format Cells dialog.
- Accounting format is best for professional financial reports.
Whenever you mention formatting for numbers, always note that a number showing as ####### is not an error; it's simply a width issue that can be fixed by double-clicking the column edge.
Quiz Time! 🎯
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