Kitz Forum

Computer Software => General software => Topic started by: renluop on October 22, 2012, 07:51:25 AM

Title: Friend's Excel 2008 (Mac) currency problem
Post by: renluop on October 22, 2012, 07:51:25 AM
He is constructing  a list of prices, ex VAT, incVAT, VAT but is having a strange problem.

The columns that contain the data he formats in £ currency, but when the file is opened next time, the £ is replaced by $. As well as that the drop down number list is at "Custom".

With another file made sometime back there is no problem.

Can someone help me help him, please?
Title: Re: Friend's Excel 2008 (Mac) currency problem
Post by: kitz on October 22, 2012, 11:40:12 AM
Im not saying your problem is the same, but I had something similar happen in the past that annoyed the heck out of me, until I found what was causing it, and it was just one of the cells in the row that was formatted as 'custom'.   

Selecting the whole row and changing to currency didnt fix it, it wasnt until I found the cell in the row that was the culprit and changed that did it stop reverting.  Depending on how big the table is, it may be a bit of an arduous task to check each individual cell format but at least its something to try:/
Title: Re: Friend's Excel 2008 (Mac) currency problem
Post by: renluop on October 22, 2012, 06:20:15 PM
Thanks for that! :) Threadbare thinking cap on encouraged by your suggestion, I was wondering if applying "Edit>Clear>Format" too the block of cells might also provide a solution. Thoughts?
Title: Re: Friend's Excel 2008 (Mac) currency problem
Post by: kitz on October 22, 2012, 07:05:58 PM
>> I was wondering if applying "Edit>Clear>Format"

Its certainly worth a try, and would be much quicker... and certainly wont harm since you can always format the column back again.

iirc, if you select a row or column and apply format using that, then any custom cell formats dont always get changed. 
I havent actually tried it, but I think clear format does clear everything in the row/col.

Title: Re: Friend's Excel 2008 (Mac) currency problem
Post by: oldfogy on October 23, 2012, 02:26:50 AM
Although not on a MAC, but sometimes I also get a annoying problem when formatting numbers, but what I have since discovered is that as I will be using lots of numbers in my page, I found that formatting the whole page first with the basic number format seems to stop the problem of individual cells just not wanting to show properly without a lot of messing around and fortunately it doesn't seem to effect any normal text that may also be typed.

More than likely the same will apply with using the currency format first.
To highlight the whole page, select the small square at the top left corner first by A1.


EDIT:

Plus I don't know and wouldn't think so, but make sure the keyboard is also set for UK English and not American, as it might be defaulting the symbol.

.