Format how a cell's value is displayed

What it does

Select cells and press Ctrl+Shift+4 for currency ($1,234.50), Ctrl+Shift+5 for percent (0.1257 → 12.57%), Ctrl+Shift+1 for a plain grouped number (1,234.50), Ctrl+Shift+3 to read a serial as a date (45852 → 7/14/2025), or Ctrl+Shift+2 for a date + time (46218.5 → 7/15/2026 12:00:00) — or use the toolbar's $ · % · decrease/increase-decimals · 123 · date · date-time group. Re-applying an

A value that carries a time-of-day reads as a date + time automatically, no format needed: =NOW comes back from the engine as a Date-typed fractional serial and shows as 7/15/2026 0:39:39 (Google Sheets' default), while a whole-day date like =TODAY shows as just 7/15/2026. active category (or clicking its pressed button) reverts to automatic.

Formatting is presentation only: it changes how the value reads, never the value itself. Format a =A1/B1 cell as a percent and the formula and its computed ratio are untouched — only the display changes. Errors always show their code clearly (#DIV/0!, #REF!, #VALUE!, …), whatever number format the cell carries.

Verified behavior

Matches Google Sheets: A cell's number format is grid-owned PRESENTATION: it changes only the displayed string, never the stored value or formula (the formula bar still shows the raw value, and the format undoes/redoes like any edit). Applying currency to 1234.5 shows $1,234.50; to -42 shows -$42.00 (Google Sheets puts the minus before the $, not accounting parentheses). Percent scales by 100 and suffixes % with two decimals and no thousands grouping, so 0.1257 shows 12.57%. The Number format is thousands-grouped with two decimals (1,234.50). A date format renders a serial as M/D/YYYY (serial 45852 → 7/14/2025; Sheets' serial epoch is 1899-12-30). A datetime format renders a serial as M/D/YYYY H:MM:SS (the fraction is the time of day: 46218.5 → 7/15/2026 12:00:00; the whole-day 46218 → 7/15/2026 0:00:00). Google Sheets also DEFAULTS a value that carries a time-of-day to a datetime display: =NOW returns a Date-typed fractional serial and reads as date + time out of the box, while a whole-day date (=TODAY) reads as just the date. Increase/ decrease-decimals add or remove one decimal place from the current number format. Re-applying an already-active category clears it back to automatic. In Google Sheets the shortcuts are Number Ctrl+Shift+1, Date Ctrl+Shift+3, Currency Ctrl+Shift+4, Percent Ctrl+Shift+5, Time Ctrl+Shift+2 (Studio's datetime format takes that slot); decrease/increase-decimals are toolbar-only. A formula error shows its code clearly (#DIV/0!, #REF!, #VALUE!, …), regardless of any number format.

Currency format is applied without changing the value

Given

• A1 = 1234.5

When I click A1, then press Control+Shift+4

Then

• A1 shows 1234.5
• A1 is numberFormat=currency

Percent format is applied without changing the value

Given

• A1 = 0.1257

When I click A1, then press Control+Shift+5

Then

• A1 shows 0.1257
• A1 is numberFormat=percent

Date format is applied to a serial without changing the value

Given

• A1 = 45852

When I click A1, then press Control+Shift+3

Then

• A1 shows 45852
• A1 is numberFormat=date

Number format is applied without changing the value

Given

• A1 = 1234.5

When I click A1, then press Control+Shift+1

Then

• A1 shows 1234.5
• A1 is numberFormat=number

Datetime format is applied to a serial without changing the value

Given

• A1 = 46218.5

When I click A1, then press Control+Shift+2

Then

• A1 shows 46218.5
• A1 is numberFormat=datetime

NOW is a Date-typed serial anchored to today (its time-of-day fraction reads as a datetime)

Given

• A1 = =NOW
• B1 = =INT(A1)=TODAY

When I click A1

Then

• B1 shows true
• A1 has formula =NOW

Re-applying the same category clears it back to automatic

Given

• A1 = 1234.5

When I click A1, then press Control+Shift+4, then press Control+Shift+4

Then

• A1 shows 1234.5
• A1 is numberFormat=false

A format is undoable and leaves the value untouched

Given

• A1 = 0.1257

When I click A1, then press Control+Shift+5, then undo

Then

• A1 shows 0.1257
• A1 is numberFormat=false