Make all negative numbers in red in Excel – a full guide
In Excel, highlighting negative numbers in red is an effective way to visually emphasize losses or deficits in financial statements, budgets, or any dataset containing value fluctuations. This guide outlines several methods to automatically and efficiently format negative numbers in red, enhancing readability and error detection. By using Conditional Formatting, custom number formats, and Kutools for Excel, you can ensure that your data communicates clearly and effectively to its users.
Apply Conditional Formatting to make all negatives red in a range
Use a custom formatting to make all negatives red in a range
Select all negatives in a range easily with Kutools
Apply Conditional Formatting to make all negatives red in a range
Conditional Formatting in Excel allows you to apply specific formatting to cells that meet certain criteria, such as negative numbers. This method helps quickly identify and differentiate negative values from other data in your spreadsheet.
- Select the range where you want to highlight negative numbers.
- Under the Home tab, click on Conditional Formatting > Highlight Cells Rules > Less Than.
- In the Less Than dialog box, please configure as follows.
- Enter the number 0 in the left text box.
- Specify a highlighted color you need, such as Red Text in this case.
- Click OK to finish. The cells in the selected range will show a real-time preview of the highlighting based on the specified conditions.
Once you set up Conditional Formatting, the formatting will automatically update to reflect changes in cell data based on the specified conditions.
Mark negative percentage in red by creating a custom format
You can create a custom format to quickly format all negative percentage in red in Excel.
1. Select the cells which have the negative percentage you want to mark in red.
2. Right click the selected cells and select Format Cells in the right-clicking menu. See screenshot:
3. In the Format Cells dialog box, you need to:
1). Go to the Number tab;
2). Click Custom in the Category box;
3). Copy and paste 0.00%;[Red]-0.00% into the Type box;
4). Click the OK button. See screenshot:
Then all negative percentages in the selected cells are marked in red immediately.
Select all negatives in a range easily with Kutools
The Select Specific Cells utility of Kutools for Excel helps you to select all cell with negative numbers at once, and then you can format all of them in red manually. Please do as follows.
Before applying Kutools for Excel, please download and install it firstly.
1. Select the range with the negative number you want to make in red, then click Kutools > Select > Select Specific Cells.
2. In the Select Specific Cells dialog box, select Cell in the Selection type section, and then select Less than from the Specific type drop-down list, enter number 0 into the box, and finally click the OK button to select all negative number cells in the selection.
If you want to have a free trial (30-day) of this utility, please click to download it, and then go to apply the operation according above steps.
Using these methods to make all negative numbers red in Excel not only helps in highlighting critical data points but also enhances the overall data presentation. Whether for quick visual assessments or detailed financial reviews, applying these formatting techniques ensures your data is both accurate and easy to interpret. Armed with these skills, you can maintain high standards of data management and presentation in all your Excel tasks. For those eager to delve deeper into Excel's capabilities, our website boasts a wealth of tutorials. Discover more Excel tips and tricks here.
Make all negative numbers in red with Kutools for Excel
Related articles:
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- How to conditional format cells if containing #na in Excel?
- How to conditional format or highlight first recurrence in Excel?
- How to conditional format dates less than/greater than today in Excel?
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