Formatting Worksheet Cells

The appearance of worksheet cells can be set by a variety of formatting options.

Formatting applied to a database header row applies to the associated database rows.

To format worksheet cells:

1.	Select the cell(s) to format.

2.	From the Worksheet menu, select Format Cells.

The Format Cells dialog box opens.

The Number tab sets the number format for the selected cells (see Creating Record Formats).

 

Parameter	Description
General	Specifies the default general format
Decimal	Uses decimal numbers; enter a value for the number of decimal places, and if desired, select to use commas as separators
Scientific	Uses scientific numbers; enter a value for the number of decimal places
Fractional	Uses fractional numbers; enter the rounding value for fractions
Dimension	Uses dimension numbers
Dimension Area	Uses dimension area format and displays the specified area units after the number
Dimension Volume	Uses dimension volume format and displays the specified volume units after the number
Angle	Determines the accuracy of angles and measurement system applied; measurement system is degrees, minutes, and seconds or decimal numbers up to eight decimal places
Date	Uses dates; select the desired date format from the list
Boolean	Select to use a data value of either True or False
Text	Select to enter a string of characters; the cell contents are treated as text, even if a number is in the string
Leader	Allows specified leader text to display before the cell value (except for Boolean and Text formats)
Trailer	Allows specified trailer text to display after the cell value (except for Boolean and Text formats)

3.	Click the Alignment tab to specify text alignment options.

 

Parameter	Description
Alignment	Sets the alignment of text in relation to the cell border
Horizontal	Specifies horizontal text alignment; select General to align text strings on the left and numbers on the right
Vertical	Specifies vertical text alignment
Text Orientation	Sets the text orientation
Vertical Text	Orients text vertically
Horizontal Text	Orients text horizontally
Wrap Text	Select to wrap text that exceeds the cell width (automatically adjusting row height); deselect to allow text that is longer than the cell width to “float” over empty adjacent cells. If adjacent cells contain content, unwrapped text may appear truncated. Numbers that exceed the cell width are displayed with # characters.
Merge Cells	Merges a range of selected spreadsheet cells into one cell; cell and border formatting and text wrapping are applied to the cell group rather than to the individual cells. The cell contents and format of only the upper left cell in the group apply to the merged cells. Data and formatting in the other cells will be lost during the merge. To split merged cells, select the merged cell group and then deselect Merge Cells.

4.	Click the Font tab to specify the font, font size, style, and text color of text in selected cells. See Formatting Text.

5.	Click the Border tab to set cell border formatting options.

The current Line Attributes are applied to a border element as it is added. Select the attributes before clicking to add a border element.

 

Parameter	Description
Line Attributes	Sets the border line style, weight, and color. Select the formatting, and then click the border button to which the formatting applies.
Style	Selects the line style and thickness for the border element
Color	Selects the line color for the border element
Presets	Click a preset to automatically set border formatting options
None	Removes all border formatting
Outline	Adds a border only to the outside edges (top, bottom, left, and right) of the cell selection
Inside	Adds a border only to the inside (horizontal and vertical) edges of the cell selection
Preview	Adds border elements and previews the border appearance
Top	Adds a border to the top of the cell selection
Horizontal	When more than one cell is selected, adds a horizontal border between cells
Bottom	Adds a border to the bottom of the cell selection
Left	Adds border to the left edge of the cell selection
Vertical	When more than one cell is selected, adds a vertical border between cells
Right	Adds a border to the right edge of the cell selection

6.	Click the Patterns tab to specify fill options for the selected cell(s).

 

Parameter	Description
Style	Select None to remove current cell fill options or to specify no fill; select Solid or Pattern to apply a solid fill color or pattern to the selected cell(s)
Color/Pattern	Select the fill color, or for the pattern style, choose the style and pattern foreground and background colors

7.	Click OK to set the formatting for the selected cell(s). The worksheet formatting also applies to worksheets placed on a drawing.