Chapter 5 · 5.3
Formatting numbers, dates and currency
A number can look many different ways: 12.5 or € 12.50 (≈ CHF 11.51) or 12.50%. The value stays the same, only the display changes. This is called the number format.
Choosing a number format
- Select the cells, for example the column with monthly amounts.
- On the Home tab, click the format list (1) and choose, for example, Number, Currency, Accounting, Short date, Percentage or Text.
Euros
Click the button with the currency symbol and choose € Euro. The buttons next to it let you display numbers as a percentage or with a thousands separator, and let you add or remove decimal places.
Dates
Just type a date the way you normally would, for example 22-10-2026. Euro-Office recognises it as a date, so you can calculate and sort with it. Choose Long date for 22 October 2026. Use the TODAY() function to put today's date in a cell, and =B2-A2 gives you the number of days between two dates.
A custom format
Choose More formats at the bottom of the list. There you can create your own format, for example with "pcs." after a quantity, or with a leading zero for postcodes and customer numbers.
Please note: is a number aligned to the left of the cell and a formula doesn't calculate with it? Then it's probably stored as text, for example after pasting it from another program. Select the cells and choose the Number format, or use Text to Columns on the Data tab.