You can apply a format to a cell to display its value in a particular way. For example, you can apply the currency format to cells that hold monetary values so that a currency symbol (such as $, £, or ¥) appears in front of numbers in the cells.

When you use a cell format, you’re setting only the display characteristics of a value. When the value is used in formulas, the actual value is used, not the formatted value. The only exception is when there are too many numbers following a decimal point, in which case the number is rounded.

To apply a cell format:
  1. Select the cell or cells.

  2. Click Inspector in the toolbar, and then click the Table button to open the Table inspector.

  3. Click Format in the Table inspector.

  4. Choose a format from the Cell Format pop-up menu.

    To learn how to choose which format to use for your purposes, see .

    To learn how to choose which format to use for your purposes, see the table, below.

    For detailed instructions about setting options for each type of format, see the topic specific to the format type you’re interested in applying.

To remove cell formatting from a cell:
  • Apply the automatic format.

  • To delete the value and the formatting, choose Edit > Clear All.

After you define a cell format, you can associate the format with multiple cells by using autofilling. See Autofilling Table Cells for instructions.

To add a value to an empty cell that has a format, select the cell and enter a value. The format is applied when you leave the cell.

Table Cell Formats

Following is a detailed description of table cell formats.

Use this cell format
When you want to
Learn more here

automatic

Automatically format content based on the characters it contains (no special formatting)

Applying the Automatic Format to Table Cells

number

Format the display of a number’s decimal places, thousands separator, and negative values

Applying a Number Format to Table Cells

currency

Format the display of monetary values

Applying a Currency Format to Table Cells

percentage

Display numeric values followed by the % symbol

Applying a Percentage Format to Table Cells

date and time

Format how date and time values are displayed

Applying a Date and Time Format to Table Cells

duration

Format the display of week, day, hour, minute, second, and microsecond values

Applying a Duration Format to Table Cells

fraction

Format the display of any part of a value smaller than 1

Applying the Fraction Format to Table Cells

numeral system

Format the display of numbers using the conventions of a particular numeral system (such as decimal or binary)

Applying a Numeral System Format to Table Cells

scientific

Format the display of numbers using an exponent raised by the power of 10

Applying the Scientific Format to Table Cells

text

Display cell content exactly as you type it

Applying the Text Format to Table Cells

custom

Define your own cell format.

Creating a Custom Number Format

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