Cell numbers, alignment, or background color can be formatted through the Cell Format dialog. To format a cell, select the cells to be formatted and click the Data | Format | Format Cells command or right-click and select Format Cells. The Format Cells dialog opens.
The Format Cells dialog has three pages; Number, Alignment, and Background.
Use the Number page to change the numeric data display in the worksheet.
Use the Alignment page to set the cell alignment.
Select cell background color on the Background page.
Number formatting has no effect on a numeric text string (numbers entered as text). A number with an apostrophe in front of it ('8123) is a text string. The apostrophe only shows in the active cell edit box. For example, an ASCII data file might contain the digits "8123" (digits surrounded by quotes), '8123 (digits preceded with an apostrophe), numbers with letters, or numbers with symbols (i.e. a backslash "\"). These "numbers" are read as text and not as a number. The Data | Transform command can be used to perform a mathematical function, such as ATOI(X), to convert a text string to an integer value.
The only formats that preserve cell formatting information are the Strater Project .SDG, Excel .XLS, .XLSX, or SYLK .SLK file formats. ASCII file formats (.CSV, .TXT, .DAT, .BNA, .BLN) do not preserve file format information.
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