How to Type Minus Sign in Excel Without Formula: 6 Methods

Method 1 – Apply Insert Tab to Type Minus Sign in Excel Without Formula

STEPS:

• Select cell C5.

• Go to the Insert tab.
• From the Symbols section of the ribbon, select Symbol.

• A new dialogue box named Symbol will appear.
• Select the Mathematical Operators in the Subset section.
• Select the symbol Minus Sign.

• The above command will input a minus in cell C5.

• Type 7 in cell C5.

• Insert the minus sign in the same way for the other values.

Method 2 – Insert Minus Sign in Excel Without Formula Using Single Quote

STEPS:

• Type -7 in cell C5.
• Add a single quote before it.

• Press Enter.
• See an error in cell C5.
• Click on the small icon left.
• Select the option Convert to Number.

• The above command returns the value of cell B5 with a minus sign.

• Repeat the above steps for all the values.
• Get results like the following image.

Method 3 – Add Custom Formatting to Type Minus Sign Without Excel Formula

STEPS:

• Select range B5:B8.
• Right-click on the selected region. Select the option Format Cells.

• A new dialogue box named Format Cells will appear.
• In the dialogue box, go to the Number tab.
• Select the option Custom from the Category section.
• In the Type input field, insert -#,###, #,###. This will give us a preview of the output in the Sample section.
• Click OK.

• See our desired result in the following image.

Method 4 – Excel Paste Special Multiplication for Typing Minus Sign

STEPS:

• Select cell D5 and press Ctrl + C to copy that value.

• Select range B5:B8 and right-click on the mouse.
• Select the option Paste Special.

• Paste Special dialogue box will appear.
• Check the option Multiply from the Operation section.
• Click OK.

• Get minus signs before all the values.

Method 5 – Type Minus Sign in Excel Without Formula Using Flash Fill Feature

STEPS:

• Type the desired value of cell B5 in cell C5 with a minus sign.

• Select cell C6.
• Press Ctrl + E.
• The above action fills the range C6:C10.
• Click the small icon left.
• Select the option Accept suggestions.

• Get numeric values with minus signs before them.

Method 6 – Apply VBA Code to Type Minus Sign in Excel Without Formula

STEPS:

• Select range B5:B8.

• Go to the Developer tab.
• Select the option Visual Basic from the ribbon.

• A new VBA project window will open.
• Right-click on the active sheet named Sheet7 (VBA).
• Select Insert > Module.

• A new VBA code window will open.
• Insert the following code in that code window.

Sub TypeMinusSign()
For Each Cell In Selection
If Cell.Value > 0 Then
Cell.Value = -Cell.Value
End If
Next Cell
End Sub

• Click OK or press the F5 key to run the code.

• See minus signs before the selected numbers in our dataset.

Download Practice Workbook

You can download the practice workbook from here.

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