Introduction

Custom number formats control how numbers are displayed in Excel. The key benefit
of custom number formats is that they change how a number looks without changing
any data. They are a great way to save time in Excel because they perform a huge
amount of formatting automatically. As a bonus, they make worksheets look more
consistent and professional.

What can you do with custom number formats?

Custom number formats can control the display of numbers, dates, times, fractions,
percentages, and other numeric values. Using custom formats, you can do things like
format dates to show month names only, format large numbers in millions or
thousands, and display negative numbers in red.

Where can you use custom number formats?

Many areas in Excel support number formats. You can use them in tables, charts,
pivot tables, formulas, and directly on the worksheet.

 Worksheet - format cells dialog

 Pivot Tables - via value field settings
 Charts - data labels and axis options
 Formulas - via the TEXT function
What is a number format?
A number format is a special code to control how a value is displayed in Excel. For
example, the table below shows 7 different number formats applied to the same date,
January 1, 2019:

Input Code Result

1-Jan-2019 yyyy 2019
1-Jan-2019 yy 19
1-Jan-2019 mmm Jan
1-Jan-2019 mmmm January
1-Jan-2019 d 1
1-Jan-2019 ddd Tue
1-Jan-2019 dddd Tuesday
The key thing to understand is that number formats change the way numeric values
are displayed, but they do not change the actual values.
Where can you find number formats?
On the home tab of the ribbon, you'll find a menu of build-in number formats. Below
this menu to the right, there is small button to access all number formats, including
custom formats:

This button opens the Format Cells dialog box. You'll find a complete list of number
formats, organized by category, on the Number tab:
Note: you can open Format Cells dialog box with the keyboard shortcut Control + 1.
General is default
By default, cells start with the General format applied. The display of numbers using
the General number format is somewhat "fluid". Excel will display as many decimal
places as space allows, and will round decimals and use scientific number format
when space is limited. The screen below shows the same values in column B and D,
but D is narrower and Excel makes adjustments on the fly.
How to change number formats
You can select standard number formats (General, Number, Currency, Accounting,
Short Date, Long Date, Time, Percentage, Fraction, Scientific, Text) on the home tab
of the ribbon using the Number Format menu.

Note: As you enter data, Excel will sometimes change number formats automatically.
For example if you enter a valid date, Excel will change to "Date" format. If you enter
a percentage like 5%, Excel will change to Percentage, and so on.
Shortcuts for number formats
Excel provides a number of keyboard shortcuts for some common formats:

Format Shortcut
General format Ctrl Shift ~
Currency format Ctrl Shift $
Percentage format Ctrl Shift %
Scientific format Ctrl Shift ^
Date format Ctrl Shift #
Time format Ctrl Shift @
Custom formats Control + 1
See also: 222 Excel Shortcuts for Windows and Mac
Where to enter custom formats
 At the bottom of the predefined formats, you'll see a category called custom. The
Custom category shows a list of codes you can use for custom number formats, along
with an input area to enter codes manually in various combinations.

When you select a code from the list, you'll see it appear in the Type input box. Here
you can modify existing custom code, or to enter your own codes from scratch. Excel
will show a small preview of the code applied to the first selected value above the
input area.

Note: Custom number formats live in a workbook, not in Excel generally. If you copy
a value formatted with a custom format from one workbook to another, the custom
number format will be transferred into the workbook along with the value.
How to create a custom number format
To create custom number format follow this simple 4-step process:

1. Select cell(s) with values you want to format

2. Control + 1 > Numbers > Custom
3. Enter codes and watch preview area to see result
4. Press OK to save and apply 
Tip: if you want base your custom format on an existing format, first apply the base
format, then click the "Custom" category and edit codes as you like.
How to edit a custom number format
You can't really edit a custom number format per se. When you change an existing
custom number format, a new format is created and will appear in the list in the
Custom category. You can use the Delete button to delete custom formats you no
longer need.
Warning: there is no "undo" after deleting a custom number format!
Structure and Reference
Excel custom number formats have a specific structure. Each number format can have
up to four sections, separated with semi-colons as follows:

This structure can make custom number formats look overwhelmingly complex. To
read a custom number format, learn to spot the semi-colons and mentally parse the
code into these sections:

1. Positive values
2. Negative values
3. Zero values
4. Text values
Not all sections required
Although a number format can include up to four sections, only one section is
required. By default, the first section applies to positive numbers, the second section
applies to negative numbers, the third section applies to zero values, and the forth
section applies to text.

 When only one format is provided, Excel will use that format for all values.
 If you provide a number format with just two sections, the first section is used
for positive numbers and zeros, and the second section is used for negative numbers.
 To skip a section, include a semi-colon in the proper location, but don't specify
a format code.
Characters that display natively
Some characters appear normally in a number format, while others require special
handling. The following characters can be be used without any special handling:

Character Comment
$ Dollar
+- Plus, minus
() Parentheses
{} Curly braces
<> Less than, greater than
= Equal
: Colon
^ Caret
' Apostrophe
/ Backslash
! Exclamation point
& Ampersand
~ Tilde
  Space character
Escaping characters
Some characters won't work correctly in a custom number format without being
escaped. For example, the asterisk (*), hash (#), and percent (%) characters can't be
used directly in a custom number format – they won't appear in the result. The escape
character in custom number formats is the backslash (\). By placing the backslash
before the character, you can use them in custom number formats:
 Value Code Result
100 \#0 #100
100 \*0 *100
100 \%0 %100
Placeholders for numbers
Certain characters have special meaning in custom number format codes. The
following characters are key building blocks:

Character Purpose
0 Display insignificant zeros
# Display significant digits
? Display aligned decimals
. Decimal point
, Thousands separator
* Repeat digit
_ Add space
Zero (0) is used to force the display of insignificant zeros when a number has fewer
digits than than zeros in the format. For example, the custom format 0.00 will display
zero as 0.00, 1.1 as 1.10 and .5 as 0.50.
Pound sign (#) is a placeholder for optional digits. When a number has fewer digits
than # symbols in the format, nothing will be displayed. For example, the custom
format #.## will display 1.15 as 1.15 and 1.1 as 1.1.

Question mark (?) is used to align digits. When a question mark occupies a place not
needed in a number, a space will be added to maintain visual alignment. 

Period (.) is a placeholder for the decimal point in a number. When a period is used in
a custom number format, it will always be displayed, regardless of whether the
number contains decimal values.
Comma (,) is a placeholder for the thousands separators in the number being
displayed.  It can be used to define the behavior of digits in relation to the thousands
or millions digits.
Asterisk (*) is used to repeat characters. The character immediately following an
asterisk will be repeated to fill remaining space in a cell.

Underscore (_) is used to add space in a number format. The character immediately
following an underscore character controls how much space to add. A common use of
the underscore character is to add space to align positive and negative values when a
number format is adding parentheses to negative numbers only. For example, the
number format "0_);(0)" is adding a bit of space to the right of positive numbers so
that they stay aligned with negative numbers, which are enclosed in parentheses.
Automatic rounding
It's important to understand the Excel will perform "visual rounding" with all custom
number formats. When a number has more digits than placeholders on the right side
of the decimal point, the number is rounded to the number of placeholders. When a
number has more digits than placeholders on the left side of the decimal point, extra
digits are displayed. This is a visual effect only; actual values are not modified.

Number formats for TEXT

To display both text along with numbers, enclose the text in double quotes ("").  You
can use this  approach to append or prepend text strings in a custom number format, as
shown in the table below.

Value Code Result

10 General" units" 10 units
10 0.0" units" 10.0 units
5.5 0.0" feet" 5.5 feet
30000 0" feet" 30000 feet
95.2 "Score: "0.0 Score: 95.2
1-Jun "Date: "mmmm d Date: June 1
Number formats for DATES
Dates in Excel are just numbers, so you can use custom number formats to change the
way they display. Excel many specific codes you can use to display components of a
date in different ways. The screen below shows how Excel displays the date in D5,
September 3, 2018, with a variety of custom number formats:

Number formats for TIME

Times in Excel are fractional parts of a day. For example, 12:00 PM is 0.5, and 6:00
PM is 0.75. You can use the following codes in custom time formats to display
components of a time in different ways. The screen below shows how Excel displays
the time in D5, 9:35:07 AM, with a variety of custom number formats:
Note: m and mm can't be used alone in a custom number format since they conflict
with the month number code in date format codes.
Number formats for ELAPSED TIME
Elapsed time is a special case and needs special handling. By using square brackets,
Excel provides a special way to display elapsed hours, minutes, and seconds. The
following screen shows how Excel displays elapsed time based on the value in D5,
which represents 1.25 days:
Number formats for COLORS
Excel provides basic support for colors in custom number formats. The following 8
colors can be specified by name in a number format: [black] [white] [red][green]
[blue] [yellow] [magenta] [cyan]. Color names must appear in brackets.

Colors by index
In addition to color names, it's also possible to specify colors by an index number
(Color1,Color2,Color3, etc.) The examples below are using the custom number
format: [ColorX]0"▲▼", where X is a number between 1-56:
[Color1]0"▲▼" // black
[Color2]0"▲▼" // white
[Color3]0"▲▼" // red
[Color4]0"▲▼" // green
etc.
The triangle symbols have been added only to make the colors easier to see. The first
image shows all 56 colors on a standard white background. The second image shows
the same colors on a gray background. Note the first 8 colors shown correspond to the
named color list above.

Apply number formats in a formula

Although most number formats are applied directly to cells in a worksheet, you can
also apply number formats inside a formula with the TEXT function. For example,
with a valid date in A1, the following formula will display the month name only:
=TEXT(A1,"mmmm")
The result of the TEXT function is always text, so you are free to concatenate the
result of TEXT to other strings:
="The contract expires in "&TEXT(A1,"mmmm")
The screen below shows the number formats in column C being applied to numbers in
column B using the TEXT function:

Conditionals
Custom number formats also up to two conditions, which are written in square
brackets like [>100] or [<=100]. When you use conditionals in custom number
formats, you override the standard [postive];[negative];[zero];[text] structure. For
example, to display values below 100 in red, you can use:

[Red][<100]0;0

To display values greater than or equal to 100 in blue, you can extend the format like
this:

[Red][<100]0;[Blue][>=100]0
To apply more than two conditions, or to change other cell attributes, like fill color,
etc. you'll need to switch to Conditional Formatting, which can can apply formatting
with much more power and flexibility using formulas.
Plural text labels
You can use conditionals to add an "s" to labels greater than zero with a custom
format like this:

[=1]0" day";0" days"

Telephone numbers
Custom number formats can also be used for telephone numbers, as shown in the
screen below:

Notice the third and forth examples use a conditional format to check for numbers that
contain an area code. If you have data that contains phone numbers with hard-coded
punctuation (parentheses, hyphens, etc.) you will need to clean the telephone numbers
first so that they only contain numbers.
Hide all content
You can actually use a custom number format to hide all content in a cell. The code is
simply three semi-colons and nothing else ;;;

To reveal the content again, you can use the keyboard shortcut Control + Shift + ~,
which applies the General format.