# Format cells and numbers

> Make a sheet easy to read with bold, colours, fonts and alignment, merge cells, and show numbers as currency, percentages, dates or with thousands separators.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/sheets-format-cells
Section: Office > PlexiiSheets
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-15

Formatting changes how cells look, not what they hold. Make headings bold, colour a total row, line figures up on the right, and show 0.25 as 25% or 1234.5 as $1,234.50, while the cell keeps the exact value for your formulas.

## Before you start

- **Plans.** Formatting is on every plan.
- **Select first.** Formatting applies to the cells you have selected. Click a column's letter or a row's number to format all of it, or press `⌘` `A` (`Ctrl` `A` on Windows) for every cell.

## Text style, colour and font

Select the cells, then use the toolbar:

| Button | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Bold**, **Italic**, **Underline** | Turns the style on for the selected cells. |
| **Text colour** | Opens a colour picker for the text. |
| **Fill colour** | Opens a colour picker for the cell's background. |
| **Font** | The font box. Choose **Default**, **Sans**, **Serif** or **Mono**, or type in **Search Google Fonts…** to find another. |

To turn bold, italic or underline off again, choose **Format** > **Text** and click the style. In that menu, a tick shows the styles the cell you are on already has, and clicking switches each one on or off.

## Alignment

- **Align left**, **Align center** and **Align right** in the toolbar, or **Format** > **Alignment**.
- Until you choose, numbers sit on the right of a cell and text on the left.

## Merge cells

1. Select the cells to merge, such as the cells across the top of a table for a title.
2. Click **Merge the selected cells** in the toolbar.

The cells become one. Only the top-left cell's content is kept; the others are cleared.

To split them again, select the merged cell and click the same button, now called **Unmerge cells**.

## Number formats

Select the cells, then choose from **Format** in the toolbar:

| Format | Shows 1234.5 as | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **General** | 1234.5 | As typed. |
| **Number (1,234.50)** | 1,234.50 | Two decimal places, with thousands separators. |
| **Integer (1,234)** | 1,235 | Rounded to a whole number, with thousands separators. |
| **Currency ($)** | $1,234.50 | A dollar sign and two decimal places. A negative amount shows as -$1,234.50. |
| **Percent (%)** | 123450.0% | The value times 100, with one decimal place. Use it for values such as 0.25, which shows as 25.0%. |
| **Date (YYYY-MM-DD)** | (for dates) | Shows a date as year, month and day, such as 2026-10-15. A value that is not a date is shown as it is. |

**Format** > **Number** in the menu bar offers **Automatic**, **Number**, **Percent** and **Currency** too. Its **Percent** shows no decimal places, so 0.25 is 25%. A tick shows the format of the cell you are on.

> **Note:**
> A number format only changes how a value looks. The formula bar still shows the value as you typed it, and formulas use that value. A value that does not suit the format, such as a word in a currency column, is shown as it is.

## Clear formatting

Select the cells and choose **Format** > **Clear formatting**. This turns off bold, italic and underline and sets the number format back to **Automatic**. Text and fill colours, the font and alignment stay; change them directly.

## Format cells by their values

To colour cells automatically, such as overdue dates in red or the highest sales in green, use conditional formatting. See [Conditional formatting](https://plexiidesk.com/help/sheets-conditional-formatting).

## Common questions

**I typed 25 and chose Percent, and it shows 2500%.**
Percent multiplies by 100. Type 0.25 for 25%.

**Will my formatting survive an Excel export?**
Yes. Fonts, fills, colours, alignment and number formats go into an .xlsx file. A .csv file holds values only. See [Import and export Excel and CSV files](https://plexiidesk.com/help/sheets-excel-csv-import-export).

## Related tasks

- [Conditional formatting](https://plexiidesk.com/help/sheets-conditional-formatting)
- [Rows, columns, frozen panes and tabs](https://plexiidesk.com/help/sheets-rows-columns-and-tabs)
- [PlexiiSheets overview](https://plexiidesk.com/help/sheets-overview)
- [Formulas, functions and named ranges](https://plexiidesk.com/help/sheets-formulas-and-functions)
- [Import and export Excel and CSV files](https://plexiidesk.com/help/sheets-excel-csv-import-export)