I have an Excel file which is behaving differently on my PC to my laptop (both running Windows XP Professional with Office XP). On my PC, I see negative numbers as just that - a number beginning with a minus sign, for example -247.

However, on my laptop, if I look at the same file, I see the negative numbers as numbers in brackets, for example (247). Any ideas why this is?

It would appear that you have different regional settings on your laptop, compared to your PC. Your PC is exhibiting default Windows behaviour when dealing with negative numbers - showing them with a minus sign. Your laptop appears to be exhibiting default accounting behaviour - showing negative numbers in brackets.

To achieve the same view on both machines, you have two options. Firstly, you can change the regional settings on one machine to match the other, based on which method you prefer. To do this, go to:

Control Panel > Regional and Language Options > Customize

The sixth option down (Negative number format) will allow you to show negative numbers in a variety of ways; pick the one that suits you. You may also want to change the negative currency format from the Currency section (see the Currency tab at the top of the window you are in).

The second way is probably more useful if you want to ensure everybody sees the data in the same way. Inside the Excel file, highlight the cells that you want to force to be displayed the same. Go to:

Format > Cells…

Select Custom from the Number category. Choose either #,##0;-#,##0 for displaying negative numbers with a minus sign, or #,##0;(#,##0) to display negative numbers in brackets.

By doing this, you are explicitly telling Excel to display the numbers in that format, overriding the default options set in the Regional and Language Options.

I hope that answers your question.

Tagged , and