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152 Using the Format Cells Dialog Box
when you’re selecting different formatting categories, the Sample area of the Format Cells dialog box shows you how the various category types will affect your selection.
I should note here that Excel always tries to choose an appropriate format category in the Category list box based on the way you entered your value in the selected cell. If you enter 3:00 in a cell and then open the Number tab of the Format Cells dialog box (Ctrl+1), Excel highlights the h:mm time format in the Custom category in the Type list box.
Deciphering the Custom number formats
You probably noticed while playing around selecting different formats in the Category list box that, for the most part, the different categories and their types are pretty easy — if not a breeze — to comprehend. For most people, that self-assured feeling goes right out the window as soon as they click the Custom category and get a load of its accompanying Type list box, shown
in Figure 2-11. It starts off with the nice word General, then 0, then 0.00, and after that, all hell breaks loose! Codes with 0s and #s (and other junk) start to appear, and it only goes downhill from there.
Figure 2-11:
Creating your own number format using the Custom category in the Format Cells dialog box.
As you move down the list, the longer codes are divided into sections sepa- rated by semicolons and enclosed within square brackets. Although at first glance these codes appear as gibberish, you’ll actually find that they’re quite understandable. (Well, would you believe useful, then?)