Use the Format Cells dialog box to format the contents of selected cells.In this article

Number

Category Click an option in the Category box, and then select the options that you want to specify a number format. The Sample box shows how the selected cells will look with the formatting that you choose. Click Custom if you want to create your own custom formats for numbers, such as product codes.

Sample Displays the number in the active cell on the worksheet in the number format that you select.

Decimal places Specify up to 30 decimal places. This box is available only for the Number, Currency, Accounting, Percentage, and Scientific categories.

Use 1000 Separator (,) Select this check box to insert a thousand separator. This check box is available only for the Number category.

Negative numbers Specify the format in which you want negative numbers to be displayed. This option is available only for the Number and Currency categories.

Symbol Select the currency symbol that you want to use. This box is available only for the Currency and Accounting categories.

Type Select the display type that you want to use for a number. This list box is available only for the Date, Time, Fraction, Special, and Custom categories.

Locale (location) Select a different language that you want to use for the display type of a number. This option is available only for the Date, Time, and Special categories.

Alignment

Text alignment

Horizontal Select an option in the Horizontal list box to change the horizontal alignment of cell contents. By default, Microsoft Office Excel aligns text to the left, numbers to the right, and logical and error values are centered. The default horizontal alignment is General. Changing the alignment of data does not change the data type.

Vertical Select an option in the Vertical box to change the vertical alignment of cell contents. By default, Excel aligns text vertically on the bottom of a cell. The default horizontal alignment is General.

Indent Indents cell contents from any edge of the cell, depending on your choice under Horizontal and Vertical. Each increment in the Indent box is equivalent to the width of one character.

Orientation Select an option under Orientation to change the orientation of text in selected cells. Rotation options may not be available if other alignment options are selected.

Degrees Sets the amount of text rotation in the selected cell. Use a positive number in the Degree box to rotate the selected text from lower left to upper right in the cell. Use negative degrees to rotate text from upper left to lower right in the selected cell.

Text control

Wrap text Wraps text into multiple lines in a cell. The number of wrapped lines is dependent on the width of the column and the length of the cell contents.

Shrink to fit Reduces the apparent size of font characters so that all data in a selected cell fits within the column. The character size is adjusted automatically if you change the column width. The applied font size is not changed.

Merge cells Combines two or more selected cells into a single cell. The cell reference for a merged cell is the upper-left cell in the original selected range.

Right-to-left

Text direction Select an option in the Text direction box to specify reading order and alignment. The default setting is Context, but you can change it to Left-to-Right or Right-to-Left.

Font

Font Select the font type for the text in selected cells. The default font is Calibri.

Font style Select the font style for the text in selected cells. The default font style is Regular.

Size Select the font size for the text in selected cells. You can type any number between 1 and 1638. The default font size is 11.

Note The sizes in the Size list depend on the selected font and active printer.

Underline Select the type of underlining that you want to use for text in selected cells. The default underline is None.

Color Select the color that you want to use for selected cells or text. The default color is Automatic.

Normal font Select the Normal font check box to reset the font, font style, size, and effects to the Normal (default) style.

Effects Allows you to select one of the following formatting effects.Strikethrough Select this check box to display the text in selected cells as strikethrough. Superscript Select this check box to display the text selected cells or text as superscript. Subscript Select this check box to display the text in selected cells as subscript.

Preview See a sample of text that is displayed with the formatting options that you select.

Border

Line Select an option under Style to specify the line size and style for a border. If you want to change a line style on a border that already exists, select the line style option that you want, and then click the area of the border in the Border model where you want the new line style to appear.

Presets Select a predefined border option to apply borders to or remove borders from selected cells.

Color Select a color from the list to change the color of the selected cells.

Border Click a line style in the Style box, and then click the buttons under Presets or Border to apply borders to the selected cells. To remove all borders, click the None button. You can also click areas in the text box to add or remove borders.

Fill

Background Color Select a background color for selected cells by using the color palette.

Fill Effects Select this button to apply gradient, texture, and picture fills to selected cells.

More Colors Select this button to add colors that are not available on the color palette.

Pattern Color Select a foreground color in the Pattern Color box to create a pattern that uses two colors.

Pattern Style Select a pattern in the Pattern Style box to format selected cells in a pattern that uses the colors that you select in the Background Color and Pattern Color boxes.

Sample See a sample of the color, fill effects, and pattern options that you select.

Protection

Locked Prevents selected cells from being changed, moved, resized, or deleted. Locking cells has no effect unless the sheet is protected.

Hidden Hides a formula in a cell so that it doesn't appear in the formula bar when the cell is selected. If you select this option, it has no effect unless the sheet is protected.

How to protect a sheet

  1. On the Review tab, in the Changes group, click Protect Sheet.
  2. Make sure that the Protect worksheet and contents of locked cells check box is selected.
  3. In the Allow all users of this worksheet to box, select the activities that you allow users to perform in a protected sheet that contains locked cells.