XL98: Number Is Not Formatted as Expected with a Percentage Format (184146)

SUMMARY

A number that you enter in a cell that is formatted with a percentage number format is handled differently in Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition than it is handled in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel. This article discusses how Excel treats numbers that are entered in cells that are formatted with a percentage number format.

MORE INFORMATION

In earlier versions of Excel, when you format a blank cell with a percentage number format and then enter a number in that cell, the number is multiplied by 100. In Excel 98, a number is multiplied by 100 when you enter it in a cell with a percentage number format if the following conditions are true:

The number is between 0 and 1. -and-
You do not precede the decimal point (if present) with a zero.

The following table lists how Excel treats numbers that are entered in cells that are formatted with a percentage number format.

   Typing this         Results in this
   -----------------------------------
   32                           32.00%
   .32                          32.00%
   0.32                          0.32%
   -32                         -32.00%

This behavior is not documented correctly on the Number tab in the Format Cells dialog box. The following message is displayed at the bottom of the Number tab:

Percentage formats multiply the cell value by 100 and display the result with a percent symbol.

NOTE: When you enter a number between 0 and -1 in a cell that has been formatted with a percentage number format, and you precede the entry with a minus sign, the number is not multiplied by 100. To work around this behavior, enclose negative numbers between 0 and -1 in parentheses marks. The following table contains an example.

   Typing this         Results in this
   -----------------------------------
   -.32                         -0.32%
   (.32)                       -32.00%