How to Keep Formatting When Using Formulas in Excel?

When working with formulas in Microsoft Excel, a common issue is that the formatting of a cell can change after a formula is applied. For example, you may have a cell formatted as currency, but when you enter a formula, the formatting changes to a plain number. Fortunately, there are several ways to keep the original formatting when using formulas in Excel. This article will explain the different methods to preserve cell formatting with formulas.

Understand How Excel Handles Formatting with Formulas

Before diving into the solutions, it’s important to understand why formatting changes occur when formulas are used in Excel. When you enter a formula into a cell, Excel calculates the result and displays it based on the cell’s formatting. However, if the formula result doesn’t match the cell’s current formatting, Excel may automatically change the formatting to match the result.

For instance, if a cell is formatted as a date and you enter a formula that returns a plain number, Excel will change the cell formatting from date to number to match the formula result.

Method 1: Use the TEXT Function

One way to preserve formatting when using formulas is to wrap the formula inside the TEXT function. The TEXT function allows you to specify the desired formatting for the formula result. Here’s how to use it:

1. Select the cell where you want to enter the formula.
2. Type =TEXT( to start the formula.
3. Enter your original formula inside the parentheses.
4. Add a comma after the closing parenthesis of your formula.
5. In double quotes, enter the desired formatting code. For example, “$#,##0.00” for currency formatting.
6. Close the TEXT function with a closing parenthesis.

Here’s an example formula that keeps currency formatting:

=TEXT(A1*B1, “$#,##0.00”)

This formula multiplies the values in cells A1 and B1 and displays the result with currency formatting.

Common Formatting Codes for the TEXT Function

Here are some common formatting codes you can use with the TEXT function:

Limitations of the TEXT Function

While the TEXT function is a powerful tool for maintaining formatting with formulas, it’s important to be aware of its limitations:

1. The TEXT function returns a string value, not a number. This means that you cannot perform mathematical operations on the result without first converting it back to a number.
2. If you need to reference the formula result in other formulas, you’ll need to use additional functions like VALUE or NUMBERVALUE to convert the string back to a number.
3. The TEXT function can make your formulas more complex and harder to read, especially if you’re using multiple nested functions.

Despite these limitations, the TEXT function remains a valuable tool for preserving formatting in many situations.

Method 2: Apply Number Formatting to the Formula Result

Another way to maintain formatting with formulas is to apply the desired number formatting directly to the cell containing the formula result. Follow these steps:

1. Enter your formula in the desired cell.
2. With the cell selected, click the Home tab on the Excel ribbon.
3. In the Number group, choose the desired formatting option (e.g., Currency, Date, Percentage).
4. If needed, use the Increase/Decrease Decimal buttons to adjust the number of decimal places.

By applying number formatting to the formula result cell, you can ensure that the formatting stays consistent even if the formula is modified.

Custom Number Formatting

In addition to the preset formatting options, Excel allows you to create custom number formats. This is useful when you need a specific formatting style that’s not available in the standard options. To create a custom number format:

1. Select the cell(s) you want to format.
2. Press Ctrl+1 or right-click and choose Format Cells.
3. In the Format Cells dialog box, select the Number tab.
4. Choose Custom from the Category list.
5. In the Type field, enter your custom formatting code using the following symbols:
   • 0 for digits
   • for optional digits
   • . for decimal point
   • , for thousands separator
   • / for date separators
   • : for time separators
   • “text” for literal text
6. Click OK to apply the custom formatting.

For example, to create a custom date format that displays the month name and year, you could use the following code: “mmmm yyyy”.

Method 3: Use Cell Styles

Cell styles in Excel allow you to define and apply a consistent set of formatting attributes to cells. By creating a cell style with your desired formatting and applying it to formula result cells, you can maintain consistent formatting. Here’s how:

1. Select a cell and format it with the desired attributes (e.g., number format, font, alignment).
2. With the cell still selected, click the Cell Styles button in the Styles group on the Home tab.
3. Choose New Cell Style from the dropdown menu.
4. Give your cell style a meaningful name and click OK.
5. Now, select the cells containing your formula results.
6. Click the Cell Styles button and choose your newly created style from the list.

The formula result cells will now have the consistent formatting defined in the cell style. If you update the formula, the formatting will be preserved.

Modifying and Updating Cell Styles

If you need to make changes to a cell style, you can easily modify it and have the changes automatically applied to all cells using that style. Here’s how:

1. Select a cell that uses the cell style you want to modify.
2. Make the desired formatting changes to the cell.
3. With the cell still selected, click the Cell Styles button and choose Modify from the dropdown menu.
4. In the Style dialog box, ensure that the style name matches the one you want to update.
5. Click OK to apply the changes to all cells using that style.

By using cell styles, you can maintain consistent formatting throughout your workbook and easily make global changes when needed.

Method 4: Use Paste Special

If you have a range of cells with formulas and you want to apply formatting to all of them at once, you can use the Paste Special feature. This method is useful when you’ve already entered the formulas and need to change the formatting. Here are the steps:

1. Select a blank cell and format it with the desired attributes (e.g., number format, font, alignment).
2. Copy the formatted blank cell (Ctrl+C or right-click > Copy).
3. Select the range of cells containing your formula results.
4. Right-click on the selection and choose Paste Special.
5. In the Paste Special dialog box, select Formats under Paste.
6. Click OK.

The formatting from the blank cell will be applied to the selected range of formula result cells.

Paste Special Options

The Paste Special dialog box offers several options for pasting data and formatting:

• All: Pastes the entire cell contents, including formulas and formatting.
• Formulas: Pastes only the formulas from the copied cells.
• Values: Pastes only the values (formula results) from the copied cells.
• Formats: Pastes only the formatting from the copied cells.
• Comments: Pastes only the comments attached to the copied cells.
• Validation: Pastes only the data validation settings from the copied cells.
• All except borders: Pastes everything except cell borders from the copied cells.
• Column widths: Adjusts the column widths of the destination range to match the copied range.
• Formulas and number formats: Pastes the formulas and number formatting from the copied cells.
• Values and number formats: Pastes the values and number formatting from the copied cells.

Choose the appropriate option based on your specific needs.

Tips for Maintaining Formatting Consistency

To ensure formatting consistency throughout your Excel workbook, consider the following tips:

• Define and use cell styles for commonly used formatting attributes.
• Set up a template with your desired default formatting for numbers, dates, and other data types.
• Use the Format Painter (in the Clipboard group on the Home tab) to quickly copy formatting from one cell to another.
• Be cautious when copying and pasting cells, as formatting may inadvertently be copied along with the data.

Final Thoughts

Preserving formatting when using formulas in Excel is crucial for maintaining a professional and consistent appearance in your worksheets. By using the TEXT function, applying number formatting directly to formula result cells, utilizing cell styles, or leveraging the Paste Special feature, you can ensure that your formulas keep the desired formatting.

Remember to choose the method that best suits your needs and workflow. With a bit of practice and familiarity with these techniques, you’ll be able to create well-formatted Excel worksheets that effectively communicate your data and insights.

Vaishvi Desai

Vaishvi Desai is the founder of Excelsamurai and a passionate Excel enthusiast with years of experience in data analysis and spreadsheet management. With a mission to help others harness the power of Excel, Vaishvi shares her expertise through concise, easy-to-follow tutorials on shortcuts, formulas, Pivot Tables, and VBA.