Make Negative Numbers Red in Excel

Using Excel's Built-in Feature

Excel, a Microsoft product, simplifies the identification of negative numbers. Apply special formatting to make negative numbers red. Select the cells containing negative numbers. Navigate to the 'Home' tab, click on 'Conditional Formatting,' and choose 'Highlight Cell Rules' followed by 'Less Than.' Enter 0, select a red text format, and apply.

Custom Formatting for Negative Numbers

Create a custom format for negative numbers in Excel. Right-click the selected cells and choose 'Format Cells.' Go to the 'Number' tab, select 'Custom,' and enter the format code "#,##0;[Red]-#,##0" to turn negative numbers red. This format will be saved with the workbook or template for future use.

Conditional Formatting Rules

Excel's conditional formatting rules offer further customization. Access 'Conditional Formatting' from the 'Home' tab, select 'New Rule,' and use the 'Format cells that contain' rule type. Set the condition to 'Cell Value' less than zero and format the text color to red. Save the rule to apply it to the selected cells.

Creating a Negative Percentage Format

Excel also allows formatting negative percentages in red. Follow the same process as custom formatting for negative numbers, but use the format code "0%;[Red]-0%" for percentages. This custom rule will only be available within the worksheet it is created in.

Saving Custom Formats

Custom formats, including those for negative numbers, can be saved with the Excel workbook or as part of a template. This enables users to maintain consistency across multiple workbooks based on the template, ensuring negative numbers are always displayed in red.

Common Use Cases

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  Alerting to budget overruns in financial statements
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  Indicating temperature below freezing point in a weather dataset
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  Highlighting losses in a profit and loss statement
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  Identifying negative growth rates in sales data
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  Flagging overdrafts in bank account transactions

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