Formatting cells

[pianopal]

I installed Microsoft Office 2008 on my dual core MacBook Pro about a month ago. I am not sure when this happened--whether it was right after installation or whether it has happened since. In any case, Excel does not format cells the way I tell it to. Specifically what bugs me is that if I format a cell for "zero" decimal points and type a 5, it shows a zero and in the formula bar it shows .05. To have just the 5 appear in the cell, I have to set the format for zero decimal points and type 5-0-0. This is a pain to say the least. I have gone into Preferences, Autoformat, Tools--everything! I have even de-installed Office and re-installed it twice, but no dice. On each re-install, by the way, I am not asked to enter the special product key number on the disc envelope. Could this be the problem? Also, all the rest of Office (and Excel) works fine.

My daughter used the same disc to install Office on her (slightly) newer MacBook Pro and has no such problem.

Help!!??

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi pianopal -

You have a setting turned on in Preferences which is causing your whole
numbers to be treated differently than you expect...

Go to Excel> Preferences> Edit & clear the check on Display this Number of
Decimal Places. If you placed that check intentionally, it isn't the way to
get 2-decimal formatting - use Format> Cells> Number. The Preference causes
everything you enter to be treated as a decimal of the designated number of
places, so your 5 looks to Excel as .05 - that's why you have to type 500 to
get the whole number of 5.

Also, reinstalling Office software is *rarely* the way to correct problems
on a Mac - and is *never* the first step to take. In fact, it can exacerbate
existing problems cause even more.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac