format issues with decimal places

[Craig Upton]

I have a workbook which has 3 sheets.
The first sheet is where i bring in data from an outside program to excell.
The second sheet uses equations to convert some of the data to different
units.
The third sheet is going to be a bordered spreadsheet to turn in as a report.

Well, I can not change the format of the cell from 3 decimal places to 2.
The cells that I want to change have formulas in them like :=Sheet3!I280
which is referring to the previous sheet with the value I want.
But, when I bring it into the report sheet, I want the format number of
decimal places to be 2. I Can not change them at all.
Please contact me @ (e-mail address removed) if you have a solution!
I keep trying and i select 2 decimal places and click ok and the values
still are in 3.
I even went extreme and changed them to 10 decimal places but when I clicked
ok, the cells were still in 3.
I dont know what to do!

 

[Niek Otten]

Probably your "numbers" are actually text.
You can easily test with the ISTEXT() or ISNUMBER() functions.
If they are text, do the following.
Format an empty cell as General. Enter the number 1 in it. Edit>Copy.
Select your "numbers". Edit>Paste Special, check Multiply.

--
Kind regards,

Niek Otten
Microsoft MVP - Excel

|I have a workbook which has 3 sheets.
| The first sheet is where i bring in data from an outside program to excell.
| The second sheet uses equations to convert some of the data to different
| units.
| The third sheet is going to be a bordered spreadsheet to turn in as a report.
|
| Well, I can not change the format of the cell from 3 decimal places to 2.
| The cells that I want to change have formulas in them like :=Sheet3!I280
| which is referring to the previous sheet with the value I want.
| But, when I bring it into the report sheet, I want the format number of
| decimal places to be 2. I Can not change them at all.
| Please contact me @ (e-mail address removed) if you have a solution!
| I keep trying and i select 2 decimal places and click ok and the values
| still are in 3.
| I even went extreme and changed them to 10 decimal places but when I clicked
| ok, the cells were still in 3.
| I dont know what to do!