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How to Change Currency Formatting in Google Sheets Spreadsheets

Being able to properly format currency values is an important aspect of creating clean and professional spreadsheets. Google Sheets provides a variety of built-in currency formats to choose from, as well as the ability to create custom currency formats tailored to your needs. In this article, we will cover everything you need to know about changing currency formatting in Google Sheets.

Selecting Cells to Format

The first step is to select the cells you want to apply currency formatting to. You can select a single cell, multiple cells, entire rows or columns, or all cells in the spreadsheet.

To select cells:

  • Click on the first cell and drag to highlight multiple adjacent cells
  • Hold Ctrl on Windows/Linux or Command on Mac to make multiple non-adjacent selections
  • Click the row/column header to select entire rows or columns
  • Use Ctrl/Command + A to select all cells

Once you’ve made your cell selection, you can move on to applying currency formatting.

Applying Built-In Currency Formats

Google Sheets has several built-in currency formats you can quickly apply:

  1. With cells selected, click Format > Number on the menu bar
  2. Select Currency from the dropdown menu

This will format the selected cells with currency symbols and two decimal places.

By default, Google Sheets uses the US Dollar symbol. But you can easily change this by selecting More Formats > More Currencies instead. Here you’ll find an alphabetical list of currencies to choose from.

Some examples:

  • Euro – €1,234.56
  • British Pound – £1,234.56
  • Japanese Yen – ¥1,234

Creating a Custom Currency Format

If you want something more specific than the built-in options, you can create a custom currency format:

  1. Select cells to format
  2. Click Format > Number
  3. Select More Formats > Custom Number Format
  4. In the input box, enter your custom format
  5. Click Apply

Custom formats use special syntax with placeholders like hash marks (#) and zeros to control how numbers are displayed.

Here are some examples:

$#,##0.00 -> $1,234.56
£0.00 -> £1,234.56
0₹ -> ₹1,234

You can include colors, conditions, and more. See Google’s custom number format documentation for details.

Setting Default Currency Per Spreadsheet

Rather than formatting cells manually each time, you can set the default currency to use for an entire spreadsheet:

  1. Click File > Spreadsheet Settings
  2. Select the General tab
  3. Set Locale to a country matching your desired currency
  4. Click Save

Now any cells formatted as currency will default to that country’s currency.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Here are some handy keyboard shortcuts when working with currency formats:

  • Ctrl + Shift + 4 (Windows/Linux) or Cmd + Shift + 4 (Mac): Apply currency format
  • Ctrl + Shift + 5 (Windows/Linux) or Cmd + Shift + 5 (Mac): Apply percent format
  • Ctrl + Shift + 1 (Windows/Linux) or Cmd + Shift + 1 (Mac): Apply decimal number format

Conclusion

Properly formatting currency is critical for organizing financial data and maintaining clean spreadsheets. With Google Sheets’ built-in options and custom format capabilities, you have a great deal of flexibility.

Remember to select cells first before applying formatting changes. Take advantage of keyboard shortcuts to work faster. And set the locale to configure default currency settings for an entire spreadsheet.

Following these best practices for currency formatting will lead to more professional, readable, and usable Google Sheets. Let me know if you have any other questions!

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