I have a negative number in a math calulation in Excel. I would like the cell
to automatically put brackets around this or to be able to format it this
way.... I have gone into Format/Cells/Number, but cannot find a way of doing
this here....

Any suggestions?

How to show brackets around a negative number in Excel

1. Select the cell or range of cells that you want to format.
2. Right-click and select "Format Cells" from the drop-down menu.
3. In the "Format Cells" dialog box, select the "Number" tab.
4. In the "Category" list, select "Custom."
5. In the "Type" field, enter the following format code: 0.00;(0.00)
6. Click "OK" to apply the formatting.

Now, any negative numbers in the selected cells will be displayed with brackets around them. For example, if you have the number -100 in a cell, it will be displayed as (100).

Note that the format code used above is just an example. You can modify it to suit your needs. The general format for displaying negative numbers in brackets is:

positive format;negative format

So, for example, if you want to display negative numbers in red and in brackets, you could use the following format code:

0.00;[Red](0.00)

Hi Afsha,

Go to Format Cells - choose Number - Under negative number section...choose
fourth one. Thanks.
--
Click on Yes, if it is useful.

Thanks & Best Regards,
Dilip Kumar Pandey
MBA, BCA, B.Com(Hons.)


New Delhi, India


"Afsha" wrote:

I have a negative number in a math calulation in Excel. I would like the cell
to automatically put brackets around this or to be able to format it this
way.... I have gone into Format/Cells/Number, but cannot find a way of doing
this here....

Any suggestions?

If you want the ()'s to show up for negative numbers in the format|cells|number
tab, you'll have to change a windows setting.

Windows start button|control panel
regional and language options
regional options tab
click the customize button
currency tab
change the negative currency format to show ()'s.

Afsha wrote:

I have a negative number in a math calulation in Excel. I would like the cell
to automatically put brackets around this or to be able to format it this
way.... I have gone into Format/Cells/Number, but cannot find a way of doing
this here....

Any suggestions?

--

Dave Peterson