How to Add Decimals in Excel (4 Easy Ways)

Q: How do I display numbers in thousands or millions with decimal points?

A12: To display numbers in thousands or millions with decimal points, format the cells using a custom number format. For example, to display as thousands with two decimal places, use the format #,##0.00,"K" for millions, use #,##0.00,,"M".

To add decimals in Excel:

Select the whole column you want to add decimal.
Press Ctrl + 1 to open Format Cells dialog box.
Select Number tab > Category > Accounting/Currency/Percentage/Scientific.
Enter how many decimal places you want in the Decimal Places box.
Press OK.

Now you can see the decimal places have been added.

Adding decimals in Excel means displaying the digits after the decimal point in a number. Adding decimal points accurately measures the result of the arithmetic operation of two numbers which also have decimal points.

In this tutorial, you will learn to add decimal points using the Excel options, Format cell window, and Number Dialog box.

The following image illustrates the results of adding decimal points after a number.

4 Ways to Add Decimals in Excel

Format Cells dialog box, Excel Options, and Increase Decimal option from Number group are used to add decimals in Excel.

Here are 4 different methods to add decimals in Excel:

Using Format Cells Dialog Box

The Format Cells dialog box in Excel is used for customizing the appearance of cells, including number formatting, font styling, text alignment, borders, etc. You can use number formatting from the Format Cells dialog box to add any number of decimal points you want.

To add decimal points using the Format Cells dialog box, follow the steps below:

Select the cells where you want to add decimals.
Go to Home tab > Number group > Format Cells Dialog Box Launcher.
As a result, the Format Cells dialog box will appear.
In the Format Cells dialog box:
- Choose Accounting/Currency/Percentage/Scientific from Category based on your data type.
- Put the desired number in the Decimal places box and click OK.

The number in the Decimal places box means how many digits after the decimal point will be shown in the selected cells. Now, look at the dataset.

Note: We can also avail of the Format Cells by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+1.

Fixing the Number of Decimals from Excel Options

Using the Excel Options you can automatically add decimal points every time you enter a number. You will see every time you insert a number, decimal points will always be added automatically.

Follow the steps below to add decimal points using Excel Options:

Click on the File tab > Options.
As a result, the Excel Options window will appear.
In the Excel Options window:
- Select Advanced > Editing options > Automatically insert a decimal point.
- Under this option, you get the Places You can increase or decrease the decimal places from this box. Set the desired decimal places.
- Finally, press OK.

Now, if you insert any number, 2 decimal places will be added to the number.

Using Increase Decimal Command

The Increase Decimal command from the Number group lets you quickly add decimals to a cell or group of cells.

To add decimals using the Increase Decimal command, follow the steps below:

Select the cells where you want to add decimals.
Go to the Home tab > Number group.
Click the Increase Decimal button once to add 1 decimal, twice 2 add 2 decimals, and so on.

Thus, the required number of decimal points will be added to the selected cells.

Inserting Decimal Using Custom Format

Custom format in Excel enables you to edit the appearance of your data, defining rules like decimal places, currency symbols, date formats, or custom text. Therefore, using this method will let you choose any decimal points along with any custom format while you enter numbers.

To insert decimal points using a custom format, you have to follow the path below:

Select the cells where you want to add decimals.
Press Ctrl + 1 to open the Format Cells dialog box.
Select Number tab > Category > Custom.
Insert the target custom format in the Type box.
I entered $#.000 for accounting format and three decimal places here.
Click OK.

As a result, decimal points will be added to the selected cells.

How to Edit Decimal Points in Excel?

The Round function in Excel enables you to round a number to a specified number of digits, helping you simplify and manage numerical data with precision in your spreadsheets. Using the ROUND function, you will see how to edit decimal points, decreasing the decimal points previously used.

To edit decimal points in Excel, follow the steps below:

Select a cell.
Insert the formula: =ROUND(E4,2)
Here, you can replace E4 with the cell for which you want to edit decimals.
Press Enter.

As a result, you get the rounded decimals:

Download Practice Workbook

Add Decimals.xlsx

Conclusion

In this article, we showed how to add decimals in Excel with the easiest methods. I hope this will satisfy your needs.

Frequently Asked Question

What if I want to add decimal points to percentages?

If you want to add decimal points to percentages, you can format the cells as percentages with the desired number of decimal places. Alternatively, you can multiply the percentage by 100 to convert it to a decimal and then perform calculations as needed.

How can I round a number down to the nearest whole number in Excel?

To round a number down to the nearest whole number, you can use the FLOOR function. For example, if your number is in cell A1, you can use the formula =FLOOR(A1, 1) to round it down to the nearest integer

How do I display numbers in thousands or millions with decimal points?

A12: To display numbers in thousands or millions with decimal points, format the cells using a custom number format. For example, to display as thousands with two decimal places, use the format #,##0.00,”K” for millions, use #,##0.00,,”M”.

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