Entering fractions and mixed numbers into Excel cells.
You may have noticed that if you try to enter a fraction in an Excel cell, like ½,
Excel will think it is a date and automatically format it as a date (2-Jan). Here’s
a little hint on adding mixed and simple fractions.
To enter a mixed number such as 1 ½:
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Enter the first number.
Press Spacebar.
Then enter the fraction
Hit Enter or Tab to the next cell
The fraction aligns right
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To enter a simple fraction:
Enter the number 0. Hit the space bar.
Then enter the fraction into the cell.
Hit Enter or Tab.
If you don’t put the 0 in, Excel will again think that you are entering a
date. Remember to put a space between the 0 and the fraction.
To see the decimal equivalent of a fraction, click on the cell and look on the
Formula bar. The fraction will display as decimal. Note that you can do
calculations with your fraction if set up in this manner. WARNING! If you
try to fool the program by simply typing an apostrophe and then the fraction,
you will get it to look like a fraction. The problem is that by typing the
apostrophe, you are telling the program that you are entering text and not a
number; therefore, you won’t be able to do any calculations.