Comma and dot in excel

4 methods to change comma to decimal point in Excel

The use of a decimal point instead of a comma can lead to significant consequences in Excel calculations. These mistakes most frequently occur when data are imported into the spreadsheet from other sources.

If a decimal point is used instead of a comma in fractions, the program automatically perceives them as a text data type. Therefore, before doing mathematical calculations and computations you should format and prepare imported data.

How to change decimal point to comma in Excel?

Highlight and copy data from the spreadsheet given below:

№	Currency pair	Conversion	Sale	Purchase	Spread
1	EUR/USD	1	1,1347	1,1350	0,0003
2	GBP/USD	1	1,5438	1,5442	0,0004
3	USD/CHF	1	0,9543	0,9547	0,0004
4	USD/JPY	100	1,1948	1,1945	-0,0003

Now go to the worksheet and right-click cell A1. Select «Paste Special» option in the appeared shortcut menu. In the dialog box select «Unicode Text» and click OK.

As you can see, Excel recognizes only those numbers, which are located in column C. Values in this column are right aligned. In other columns values are left aligned. In all cells the format is «General» by default.

Note. If you copy data from other sources without Paste Special, format is copied together with other data. In this case «General» format of cells (by default) can be changed, making it impossible to distinguish visually whether the number or the text has been recognized.

All further actions should be performed on a blank worksheet. Delete everything from the sheet and open a new one for further work.

To convert decimal point to comma in imported data you can use 4 methods:

Method 1: converting decimal point to comma in Excel through Notepad

Windows Notepad doesn’t require applying complicated settings or functions. It is merely an intermediary in copying and preparing data.

1. Copy the data from the original spreadsheet on this page. Open Windows Notepad («Start» — «All programs» — «Standard» — «Notepad») and paste the copied data into it for preparation.
2. Select «Replace» option in «Edit» menu (or use a combination of hot keys CTRL + H). In the appeared dialog box, type decimal point (.) in «What» field and comma (,) in «With» field. Then click «Replace All» button.

Notepad program replaced all decimal points with commas. Now the data is ready for copying and pasting in the worksheet.

This is a rather simple, but very effective way.

Method 2: temporary change of Excel settings

Before you change a decimal point to a comma in Excel, correctly evaluate the set task. Perhaps it is better to make the program temporarily perceive a point, as a decimal separator in fractional numbers. In the settings you need to specify that in fractional numbers the separator is a decimal point instead of a comma.

To do this, open «FILE»-«Options»-«Advanced». You should temporarily uncheck «Used system separators» in «Editing options» section. Then remove a comma and enter a decimal point in «Decimal separator и Thousands separator» field.

After performing the calculations, you are strongly recommended to return the default settings.

Attention! This method works if you make all the changes before importing data, not after it.

Method 3: temporary change of Windows system settings

The principle of this method is similar to the previous one. But here you change the similar settings in Windows. You need to replace the comma with a decimal point in the settings of the regional operating system standards. Now, more details on how to do this.

Open «Start» — «Control Panel» — «Languages and Regional Standards». Click on «Advanced options» button. In the appeared window, make change in the first field «Delimiter of integer and fractional part» and enter the value you need. Then click OK and OK.

Attention! If you open this file on another computer where other system parameters of regional standards are set, you may experience computational problems.

Method 4: using find and replace function in Excel

This method is similar to the first one. Only here we use the same function from Notepad, but this time in Excel itself.

Applying this method, in contrast to the above mentioned ones, first insert the copied spreadsheet on a blank worksheet, and then prepare it for computations and calculations.

An important drawback of this method is the complexity of its implementation, if some fractional numbers with a decimal point after the insertion have been recognized as a date, and not as a text. Therefore, first get rid of the dates, and then deal with the text and the decimal points.

1. Pre-select the columns where the fractional numbers with a decimal point as a separator will be located. In this case, these are three D: F columns.
2. Set the text format of cells for the selected range to avoid the automatic conversion of some numbers to the date format. To do this, select the text format from the drop-down list on «HOME» tab in «Number» section. Alternatively, press CTRL + 1, select «Number» tab in the appeared «Format Cells» window, and select «Text» in «Category:» section.
3. Copy the spreadsheet and right click on cell A1. Select «Paste Special» option in the shortcut menu. Select «Unicode text» and click OK. Note how the values in cells D2, D3, D5, E3, E2, E5, are now displayed in contrast to the very first spreadsheet copying.
4. Click «HOME»-«Find and Select»-«Replace» tool (or press CTRL + H).
5. In the window that appears, enter a decimal point in «Find what:» field, and a comma in the second «Replace width:» field. Then click «Replace All».
6. Select 3 columns D: F again and change the format of the cells to «Number» (or press hot keys CTRL+SHIFT+1). Don’t forget to increase decimal as described in point 4.

All decimal points have been replaced with commas. The text has automatically converted to a number.

Instead of the 4th and 5th items, you can use in a separate column a formula with the following functions:

For example, select the range of cells G2: I5, enter this formula and press CTRL + Enter. Then move the cell values of G2: I5 range to D2: F5 range.

This formula finds a decimal point in the text with the help of =FIND() function. Then the second function changes it to a comma. And =VALUE() function converts the obtained result to a number.

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Change the decimal point to a comma or vice versa

If you simply need to replace comma to point, dot to comma, semicolon to comma, etc. in the Excel spreadsheet, check How to change comma to decimal point and vice versa in Excel.

To change Excel options for decimal separators, do the following:

1. On the File tab, click the Options button:

2. In the Excel Options dialog box, on the Advanced tab, clean the Use system separators checkbox:

3. In the appropriate fields, enter symbols you need for Decimal separator and for Thousands separator.

Note: Changing dot to the comma in the Decimal separator field also requires changes in the Thousands separator field. You can’t use a comma for both fields.

The English-speaking countries like the U.S., the U.K, and Australia decimal separators are different from the European countries’ decimal delimiters. The first ones use period, point, or dot as a decimal separator (17.96) and comma as a thousand groups delimiter (1,017.96). Others use the comma as a decimal separator (17,96) and quotation as a thousand groups delimiter (1’017,96). By default, Excel gets separator settings from Windows, and changing the Windows settings can break other applications, but advanced Excel options allow you to override the Windows settings.

Decimal separator settings are not specific for the current workbook and change number formats in all workbooks you open.

If you need to change system options, please see Change the semicolon to a comma or vice versa tip, which explains how to modify list separator in the Customize Format dialog in the system. The same dialog controls the Decimal symbol and the Digit grouping symbol settings.

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How to change comma to decimal point and vice versa in Excel

Import a structured text file to an Excel spreadsheet

Import a text file to an Excel spreadsheet

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How to Change Commas to Decimal Points and Vice Versa in Excel (5 Ways)

Change Separators from Commas to Decimals or Decimals to Commas in Microsoft Excel

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated November 23, 2021

Applies to: Microsoft ® Excel ® 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365 (Windows)

Depending on your country or region, Excel may display decimal points or dots instead of commas for larger numbers. The decimal point (.) or comma (,) is used as the group separator in different regions in the world. You can change commas to decimal points or dots or vice versa in your Excel workbook temporarily or permanently. The default display of commas or decimal points is based on your global system settings (Regional Settings in the Control Panel) and Excel Options.

If you want to use a decimal point instead of a comma as a group or thousands separator, which is different from your Regional Settings, this can lead to issues with your Excel calculations.

Excel recognizes numbers without group or thousands separators so these separators are actually a format.

Your Regional Settings in your Control Panel on your device are used by default by Excel to determine if decimals should be a period or dot (used in the US and in English Canada for example) or if decimals are a comma (used in many European countries and French Canada).

Do you want to learn more about Excel? Check out our virtual classroom or live classroom Excel courses >

Changing commas to decimals by changing global system settings

It’s important to enter data in Excel in accordance with your global system settings in the Control Panel. For example, if you enter the number 1045.35 and your system is set with US as the region, the period is used as the decimal separator. If you enter the number 1045,35 in France, the comma is used as the decimal separator based on system settings with France as the region.

Below is the Control Panel in Windows 10:

To change the Regional Settings in the Control Panel in Windows 10:

1. In the Start a search box on the bottom left of the screen, type Control Panel. The Control Panel appears.
2. Click Clock and Region. This may appear as Languages and Regional Standards.
3. Below Region, click Change Date, Time, or Number Formats. A dialog box appears. If you change the region, Excel (and other programs) will use settings based on the selected region so US would use periods as decimals and commas as thousands separators.
4. If you don’t want to change the region, click Additional settings. A Customize Format dialog box appears.
5. Click the Numbers tab.
6. Select the desired options in Decimal symbol and Digit grouping symbol. You can also change other options in this dialog box (such as the format of negatives).
7. Click OK twice.

Below is the Customize Format dialog box:

Keep in mind that this will change defaults on your device for all Excel workbooks (as well as other programs like Microsoft Access or Microsoft Project). If another user opens the workbook on a different device, the separators will display based on their system settings.

Changing commas to decimals and vice versa by changing Excel Options

You can also change Excel Options so that commas display as the group or thousands separator instead of decimals and vice versa. This option will affect any workbook you open after you have made this change.

To change Excel Options so that commas display as the thousands separator and decimals appear as the decimal separator (assuming your global settings in Regional Settings are set in the opposite way):

1. Click the File tab in the Ribbon.
2. Click Options.
3. In the categories on the left, click Advanced.
4. Uncheck Use system separators in the Editing area.
5. In the Decimal separator box, enter the desired character such as a decimal or period (.).
6. In the Thousands separator box, enter the desired character such as a comma (,).
7. Click OK.

Below is the Options dialog box where Use system separators has been turned off and a decimal and comma have been entered as separators:

You may want to change the Options back to Use system separators when you have finished your task.

Creating a formula to change separators and format using current system separators

Another alternative is to write a formula in another cell or column to convert separators. This works well if the data is text with separators that are not used in the current system settings. If you write a formula to convert text to numbers, you can keep the original values as well. In Excel 2013 or later, you can use the NUMBERVALUE function to convert the text to numbers.

The NUMBERVALUE function has the following arguments:

Text – The text to convert to a number.

Decimal_separator – The character used in the original cell to separate the integer and fractional part of the result.

Group_separator – The character used in the original cell to separate groupings of numbers, such as thousands from hundreds and millions from thousands.

The function is entered as follows:

=NUMBERVALUE(Text,Decimal_separator, Group_separator)

For example, if you have 2.500.300,00 in A1 and your device is set to US in the Regional Settings, you could enter the following formula in B1:

=NUMBERVALUE(A1,»,»,».»)

The value that is returned will normally appear as a number without formatting. You can then apply appropriate formatting by pressing Ctrl + 1 and using Format Cells to apply formatting with system separators.

Changing separators using Flash Fill

Flash Fill is a utility that is available in Excel 2013 and later versions and can be used to clean up and / or reformat data. It is not a formula, so if the original data changes, you’ll need to rerun Flash Fill.

In the example below, the numbers entered in column A are formatted using system settings (US in this case). In column B, we have entered sample data in B2 and B3 with different separators (periods for the group separator and commas for the decimal separator). It’s usually best to enter a few examples to show Excel the pattern. You’ll need data with a pattern to the left in order to use Flash Fill. Once you have entered a few examples of the pattern in cells to the right of the original data, in the cell below the samples (in this case in cell B4) press Ctrl + E. Flash Fill will fill in the remaining cells until it reaches the end of the data set.

The following example was created using Flash Fill in column B (the data that is filled in column B is text):

Changing commas to decimals in an Excel worksheet for a selected range using Replace

You can use the Replace command to replace commas with decimals or vice versa In a range of cells on a worksheet. It’s important to understand that this will change the range of cells to text so you won’t be able to use certain functions like SUM. You may want to replace on a copy of the data.

To change commas to decimals using Replace:

1. Select the range of cells in which you want to replace commas with decimals. You may select a range of cells, a column or columns or the entire worksheet.
2. Press Ctrl + 1 or right-click and select Format Cells. A dialog box appears.
3. Click the Number tab.
4. In the categories on the left, click Text and then click OK. Notably, the data will be text not numbers.
5. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon and in the Editing group, click Find & Select. A drop-down menu appears.
6. Click Replace. Alternatively, press Ctrl + H. A dialog box appears.
7. In the Find and Replace dialog box, click the Replace tab.
8. In the Find what box, enter a comma (the character that you want to find).
9. In the Replace with box, enter a decimal or period (the character that you want to replace).
10. Click Replace All if you are sure that you want to replace all symbols or characters in the selected range. Click Replace if you want to find and replace one by one in the selected range. Click Find All if you want to find all of the characters to be replaced first and then decide if you want to replace all. Click Find Next if you want to find characters one by one and decide if you want to replace each character by clicking Replace. After replacing all characters, Excel displays a dialog box with the number of replacements.

Below is the Find and Replace dialog box with a comma (,) entered in the Find what box and a decimal (.) in the Replace with box:

In the previous example, only commas were changed to decimals but you may have data that has both commas and decimals (like 1,475.55). In this case, you would need to Replace multiple times.

To change commas to decimals and decimals to commas using Replace:

1. Select the range of cells in which you want to replace commas with decimals and decimals with commas. You may select a range of cells, a column or columns or the entire worksheet.
2. Press Ctrl + 1 or right-click and select Format Cells. A dialog box appears.
3. Click the Number tab.
4. In the categories on the left, click Text and then click OK. Notably, the data will be text not numbers.
5. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon and in the Editing group, click Find & Select. A drop-down menu appears.
6. Click Replace. Alternatively, press Ctrl + H. A dialog box appears.
7. In the Find and Replace dialog box, click the Replace tab.
8. In the Find what box, enter a decimal.
9. In the Replace with box, enter an asterisk (*).
10. Click Replace All if you are sure that you want to replace all symbols or characters in the selected range. Click Replace if you want to find and replace one by one in the selected range. Click Find All if you want to find all of the characters to be replaced first and then decide if you want to replace all. Click Find Next if you want to find characters one by one and decide if you want to replace each character by clicking Replace. After replacing all characters, Excel displays a dialog box with the number of replacements.
11. In the Find what box, enter a comma.
12. In the Replace with box, enter a decimal or period.
13. Click Replace All if you are sure that you want to replace all symbols or characters in the selected range. Click Replace if you want to find and replace one by one in the selected range. Click Find All if you want to find all of the characters to be replaced first and then decide if you want to replace all. Click Find Next if you want to find characters one by one and decide if you want to replace each character by clicking Replace. After replacing all characters, Excel displays a dialog box with the number of replacements.
14. In the Find what box, enter an asterisk (*).
15. In the Replace with box, enter a comma.
16. Click Replace All if you are sure that you want to replace all symbols or characters in the selected range. Click Replace if you want to find and replace one by one in the selected range. Click Find All if you want to find all of the characters to be replaced first and then decide if you want to replace all. Click Find Next if you want to find characters one by one and decide if you want to replace each character by clicking Replace. After replacing all characters, Excel displays a dialog box with the number of replacements.

Again, the result will be text, not numbers.

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