Decimals that are displayed as rounded 1/16th fractions are not reduced to the simplest form (893691)

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Office Excel 2003

Content Maintenance:24125Clarify:SOX040428700107

SYMPTOMS

When you try to display a decimal value in sixteenths by using the Fraction formatting category and the As sixteenths type, the fractions are not reduced to their simplest form. For example, "0.25" is displayed as "4/16" and not as "1/4."

WORKAROUND

To work around this issue, convert the decimal values by using a formula that is similar to the following:

=TEXT(A1,"#"&IF(ABS(A1-ROUND(A1,0))>1/32," 0/"&CHOOSE(ROUND(MOD(A1,1)*16,0),16,8,16,4,16,8,16,2,16,8,16,4,16,8,16),""))

This formula converts a decimal value in A1 to an integral fraction that is expressed to the nearest sixteenth. Additionally, this formula displays the fraction in its simplest form in the cell that contains the formula.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

REFERENCES

For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

264372 How to control and understand settings in the Format Cells dialog box in Excel

Modification Type:	Minor	Last Reviewed:	3/11/2005
Keywords:	kbtshoot kbprb KB893691 kbAudEndUser