How to Do Fractions on Excel

As far as Microsoft Excel is concerned, fractions and decimals are exactly the same thing because it uses their values when performing calculations. By default, Excel displays decimals, likely because they relay greater precision in the figure. However, Excel also allows you to change number formats so you can calculate and display figures as fractions. Because Excel "sees" fractions and decimals as the same value, using fractions only changes the display but the calculations remain the same.

Instructions

1. Open your spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel.

2. Click and drag your mouse over the cells you want formatted as fractions.

3. Right-click any selected cell and choose "Format Cells."

4. Click "Fraction" from the Category list in the Numbers tab.

5. Click the fraction format you prefer from the Type list. As an example, you can choose "Up to One Digit (1/4)," "Up to Three Digits (312/943)" or "As Hundredths (30/100)."

6. Click "OK" to format the numbers as fractions.