How to Use Decimal Numbers in Excel

1. Launch Excel and open the worksheet where you want the number formatting changed to decimals.
2. Highlight the cells you want to change. If you want to use a whole column for decimals, click in the shaded box with the column's identification letter, or use the identification number box for rows to highlight the whole row.
3. Select multiple cells, rows or columns by holding down the 'Ctrl' key as you click on other cells, rows or columns after your first selection.
4. Click the 'Home' tab, and then click in the bottom right corner of the 'Number' section, where you will see a small box with an arrow. This launches a window with the full set of number options.
5. Click on 'Number' in the left menu column, and then select your preferred number of decimal places using the arrows in the field next to 'Decimal places' in the middle of the dialog box. You can also manually enter a number into the decimal places selector.
6. Choose any other options you want to modify, such as using a comma to separate digits at every 1,000 and how negative numbers are formatted, and then click 'OK.' Your numbers will appear as decimals.
7. Enter new decimal amounts as you would on any computer keypad, using the period on your keyboard to indicate a decimal point. If you have a numeric keypad on your keyboard, the decimal key there will also work.
8. Choose special decimal formatting, such as how many decimal places to show in dollar amounts, by highlighting the appropriate cells and accessing the same dialog box. Choose 'Currency' instead of 'Numbers,' and then refine your settings from there. Click 'OK' to reset the format.
9. Increase or decrease the number of decimal places that appear in your cells by highlighting your cells again, and then tapping the decimal increase or decrease buttons on the number's pane of the Home menu, just above the box and arrow icon.