currency vs. accounting formatting

[miconian]

The button that looks like a dollar sign on the formatting toolbar yields a little 'currency style' comment when you mouse over it. Maybe it's the word 'style' that prevents this label from being completely inaccurate. But the truth is that when you format a cell with that button, you are not giving it the 'currency' format, you are giving it the 'accounting' format.

Surely, I am not the first person to get frustrated at this. Is there another built-in button I can use to format as currency, or do I have to make my own (it's not the end of the world if I have to make my own, of course, but just to keep from reinventing the wheel...).

I have a similar issue with the comma button. I often want to insert commas in long numbers. I almost never want to add two decimal places to the number into which I'm inserting the comma. Is there not a feature that does the same thing the comma button does, but without the additional decimal places?

I probably should have removed both of those buttons from my toolbar long ago, but their iconic promise is so in tune with what I *wish* they would do, that I have kept them there out of what I am lately realizing was just a silly lingering idea that maybe I just somehow wasn't using them correctly.

Thanks...!

 

[yankee428]

heheh, very funny... currency style button gives you accounting format. nice job microsoft. nice catch micronian.

 

[miconian]

Found some info about this here:

http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=.../servicedesks/bin/kbsearch.asp?article=151442

...which is nice, as I have now changed my currency button so that it pastes the currency format instead of the accounting format.

On the other hand, even though the comma button is mentioned in the article, I'm still not sure how to modify my comma button so that it serves its function without adding decimal places where they aren't wanted, while at the same time...and this is key...leaving alone extra decimal places that were already present.

 

[miconian]

Actually, I followed the instructions given in that link, and it seems to only be a band-aid solution. Open a new workbook, and the currency button still applies the accounting format. This is true even after I changed the currency style in personal.xls, saved it, and restarted Excel.