6 Microsoft Excel formatting habits to break

Whether you're new to Excel or an expert, avoiding bad formatting habits will help you process data tables faster, speed up your workflow, and ensure your data in Excel works properly. Here are some Excel formatting habits to avoid when working.

 

Merge cells in Excel

For example, there is a row in Excel with the same data in each cell. Instead of repeating the same value multiple times, you merge the cells using Merge And Center . However, formatting the data like this will affect the table, because Excel works best when the grid of individual cells is arranged in consistent rows and columns.

 

So you use the Center Across Selection option . You select the row you want to merge and then click the arrow icon at Alignment to expand.

Then you choose Center Across Selection .

 

Align numbers in the center and to the left

When you enter text into a cell in Microsoft Excel, the text aligns to the left, and when you enter a numeric value, the text aligns to the right.

Many people choose to center their data, but in some cases Excel automatically places numeric values ​​to the right of the cell.

Aligning all numbers to the right makes them easier to read and compare than center-aligning. On the other hand, right-aligning numbers makes it easier to distinguish between different types of data.

Do not use date format

When you enter a value that Excel recognizes as a date format, it displays the data in date format.

However, if Excel still displays the General format for dates, it means that the cell is understood as text. Thus, we cannot use Excel functions related to dates.

To fix this, delete that cell and press Ctrl+1 to open Format Cells and click Date to set the format.

 

Color an entire column or row

For example, if you have a total or value column at the bottom of the table that needs to be highlighted, you should not color the entire column, but format the data as an Excel table and bold the rightmost column.

Click Format As Table to choose to format the data as a table.

Then check the Last Column box to highlight the total value column or the column that needs to be highlighted at the end of the table.

Use different fonts

Mixing fonts in Excel makes your spreadsheet look messy and unprofessional, and can make it difficult for people to read your data. It's best to choose a generic, easy-to-read font.

Manual table formatting

In Microsoft Excel, you can apply manual formatting to your data if you want to highlight some data. In fact, formatting your table manually can cause other problems later.

Instead, you should choose the correct Excel table format at Format As Table.