Keyboard Shortcuts to Format Spreadsheet Cells
If you frequently have to format cells after you've typed the information, you may want to take note of some of these keyboard shortcuts that allow you to format cells as you go. This information is for Office 2007 and Office 2010.
Zip Codes
If you enter a zip code like 08976, Excel will assume it is a number and will drop the leading zero to display 8976 in the active cell. If you enter an ' (apostrophe) before the value, Excel will accept the zip code as text.
Currency
To format a number as currency, type a $ (dollar sign) immediately before the value. For instance, type $200.00 for 200 dollars in currency format.
Fractions
If you type ½ (1 slash 2) in an Excel cell, the resulting value will be the date 02-Jan. To enter a value in fraction format, precede your fraction by the number 0 (zero) > Press the spacebar > Type the fraction.
Percentages
Enter the percent as a whole number (i.e., 75) followed immediately by a % (percent sign).
