Excel: period instead of comma as decimal point - how it works
In Excel, the comma is used as a decimal point by default. You can also use a period instead. This is useful if you want to create an Excel spreadsheet with international relevance. We'll show you what settings you need to make for this to work.
Dot instead of comma in Excel tables
By default, Excel uses the computer's settings to decide between comma and period as a decimal point. To determine yourself which character should be used, proceed as follows:
- Open Excel and click on "File" or, in older versions, on the round menu button at the top left.
- Then click on "Options" / "Excel Options" and select "Advanced".
- Under "Editing options" remove the check mark at "Use delimiter from operating system".
- Now you can determine which decimal point you want to use. Replace the comma with "decimal separator" with a period.
- Finally confirm the setting with "OK".
In the next practical tip we will show you how to insert numbering in Excel.