Forum Discussion
Stop Excel auto formating
How do I stop Excel from automatically formatting cells? I have three columns. The first column is formatted currency with fill. The second is text. The third is general. When tying a number in the general column Excel automatically formats the cell to currency with a fill matching the first column. How can I stop Excel from automatically changing the formatting of the cells in the third column?
2 Replies
Hello Brett1,
This usually happens because Excel is automatically extending the formatting from the adjacent column.
Try this:
- Select the third column.
- Go to Home > Clear > Clear Formats.
- Set the column format back to General.
If it still happens:
- Go to File > Options > Advanced.
- Under Editing options, uncheck:
“Extend data range formats and formulas”
This setting causes Excel to copy formatting from nearby columns automatically.
Also check whether your data range is formatted as an Excel Table, since tables can automatically propagate formatting to adjacent cells.
Normally Excel only extends formatting to cells in the same column. This is controlled by this setting in Excel options:
