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Thread ID: 32607 2003-04-23 23:50:00 Excel Calculation bonzo29 (2348) Press F1
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138245 2003-04-23 23:50:00 In my Excel spreadsheets if the result of a calculation is a minus quantity I'd like it to AUTOMATICALLY display in red text. Anyone know if this is possible? bonzo29 (2348)
138246 2003-04-24 00:17:00 Right click the column in which the calculation results are in. Rick click > Format Cells > "Number" tab
Choose Category "Custom" and under "Type" put:
$###0;[Red]-$###0
honeylaser (814)
138247 2003-04-24 00:18:00 > Rick click

Sorry, that should be "right click".
honeylaser (814)
138248 2003-04-24 00:46:00 many thanks honeylaser, It's very simple when you know how! bonzo29 (2348)
138249 2003-04-24 02:58:00 Sorry, forgot to add, remove the $ if you aren't talking about currency calculations. honeylaser (814)
138250 2003-04-24 07:36:00 Above suggestion is OK for what you asked.

However, you might also like to have look at the Conditional Formatting option (in Format menu) where you can make negative, or positive, or greater than 1 million or whatever, automatically appear in whatever cell format you like in fact , including cell colour, font colour, cell border, with or without $ or yen or whatever sign, font size, font bold, or indeed whatever you like.

I often find it very useful for highlighting specific outcomes, even ones as straightforward as negative numbers (once called "impossible numbers", although some also applied that term to imaginary numbers).

If Roofus reads this, being an accountant, he/she might be interested in the origins of double entry book-keeping (I think in Italy about 1500 - without looking up Google which I don't know if it contains that gem of wisdom or not) as an accountant's device for avoiding negative numbers.
rugila (214)
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