Change the character used to separate thousands or decimals (Microsoft Excel)

Question

I'm working with numbers in Microsoft Excel, but the thousands separator and decimal symbol do not match the regional format that I have configured on my Mac. For example, instead of '1.000,50', I see '1,000.50'. Adding Microsoft Excel to 'Applications' under 'Language & Region' and restarting the application does not solve the problem either. Many thanks in advance for your help!

Answer 1

Hi @C Jakob

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A Forum. 

Based on the issue you've described, it sounds like you're trying to get Excel to use the standard US number formatting, which is 1,000.50 (comma for the thousands separator and a period for the decimal symbol). From my testing environment, this issue is often not related to the macOS 'Language & Region' settings, but rather to the Excel application's own settings. Please try the following steps to see if they resolve the problem and change the format to 1,000.50:

Right-click on the cell you want to format > Select Format Cells > In the "Format Cells" dialog box, go to the Number tab > choose Number > make sure the box for "Use 1000 Separator (,)" is checked. * You can also choose the number of decimal places you want to display.

In the same "Format Cells" dialog box, select the Custom category > In the Type field, enter the format code: #,##0.00 > Click OK. Then, open Microsoft Excel > In the menu bar, go to Excel > Settings (or Preferences on older versions) > Choose Edit > Look for the option "Use system separators" or something similar > If this option is checked, try unchecking it > Please check Set the Decimal separator to a period (.) and set the Thousands separator to a comma (,). > Click OK or close the settings window. You may need to restart Excel for the changes to take effect. If these steps don't work, or if I've misunderstood your desired format, could you please also try opening a file in Excel for the web (the online version) and let me know if the numbers are formatted correctly there? This will help us determine if the issue is with the desktop application or your account settings.

Appreciate your patience and understanding. Hopefully, the next information you provide will help us find the most appropriate direction to move forward. 

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Answer 2

I use Windows and not Mac, but I believe it should be the same. Go to Excel Options and under the Advanced tab select Use system separators and here set Decimal separator and Thousands separator.

Hope this helps.