How to Change Decimal Places in Excel (3 Effective Ways)

If you don’t need irrelevant decimal places in cells as they produce ##### symbols to show, or you don’t want to precision down to the microscopic level, then you can change decimal places in Excel to get the number you wish. In this article, you will learn 3 effective ways to change decimal places in Excel.

1. Using Increase Decimal and Decrease Decimal Buttons to Change Decimal Places in Excel

The most common way to change decimal places is to use increase and decrease decimal buttons. Here is the decimal number. Our goal is to change decimal places.

Just follow the steps below to do this.

Steps:

• First, select the cell that contains the number. Then go to the Home tab >> click on the Number group >> click on Increase Decimal Button until you get your desired decimal number.

Here is the new decimal number. If we increase the decimal places to more than the number initially has, Excel just includes zeros to make up.

Again, let’s decrease the decimal places in our number. In order to do this, just repeat the steps above. Then, use the Decrease Decimal button as shown in the following image.

Here is the result of decreasing the decimal places in our number. You need to keep in mind that in case of decreasing decimal places, Excel round the figures.

Read More: How to Add Decimals in Excel

2. Changing Decimal Places in Excel Using Cell Formatting

The second most common way to change decimal places is to use Cell Formatting. It is done by applying a built-in number format. You need to follow the steps below to apply this method.

Steps:

• First, select the number. Then, click on the Home tab >> click on the Number group >> click on the Arrow sign at the down-right corner of the number box.

• A Format Cells dialog box will appear. Under the Number section, select Number, and into the Decimal Places box, put your desired count number at which decimal places you want to round your number. In this example, we take 3 as we want to display our number to 3 digits after the decimal point. Finally, click on OK.

Here is the result.

3. Using Excel Functions to Change Decimal Places

Excel provides several functions and formulas to change decimal places. In this tutorial, you will learn to apply the 3 most effective functions to change decimals.

3.1 Using ROUND Function

The ROUND function rounds a number to a specified number of digits.

The 1st argument is the number you need to round. You can use cell reference instead of putting the number.

And, the 2nd argument is the number of digits you need to round the number to.

To apply the ROUND function, just follow the steps below.

Steps:

• Go to cell C4, and type the following formula. Press Enter.

Here is the result of the rounded number at 3 decimal places.

3.2 Using ROUNDUP Function

The ROUNDUP function rounds a number up, away from zero.

To apply the ROUNDUP function, just write down the following formula in cell C4. Press Enter.

Here is the result of the rounded number at 2 decimal places.

3.3 Using ROUNDDOWN Function

Conversely, The ROUNDDOWN function rounds a number down, toward zero.

Again, to apply the ROUNDDOWN function, copy the following formula and paste it into cell C4. Then, press Enter.

Here is the number that is rounded down at 3 decimal places.

Download Practice Workbook

You can download the following practice workbook that we have used to prepare this article.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, I have discussed 3 effective ways to change decimal places in Excel. I hope you found this article helpful. Please, drop comments, suggestions, or queries if you have any in the comment section below.

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