Formatting numbers in excel so they are in parentheses

I want to format cells in Excel so the numbers the cells contain are displayed in parentheses (both negative and positive numbers). Examples:

(4.54)

(-2.32)

The cells I want to format this way contain formulas. This seems to be the reason why custom formatting doesn't work.

Thanks!

2 Answers

You want a custom number format:

"("0.00")";"("-0.00")"

This defines the format for positives "("0.00")" and another for negatives "("-0.00")"

You could optionally provide a third format for zero value but if you don't specify it then zero will be formatted using the positive format.

Add a single quote before you type the value into the cell

'(4.54)
'(-2.32)

Then press enter and the single quote will be removed and the literal value you typed in will remain