PlanMaker 2026 · Number, date and currency formatting · Beginner
Format Numbers, Dates, Currency and Durations in PlanMaker 2026
Separate stored values from display, choose currency and date formats, preserve identifiers, show elapsed hours beyond 24, and test precision safely.
A financial-looking cell is not necessarily a usable number. This exercise pairs each display choice with a calculation or identity check, so you can distinguish formatting from conversion and actual rounding.
Enter the full fixture
Use a new workbook. The examples use a decimal point and English function names; use the argument and decimal separators accepted by your installation. Create these cells:
| Cell | Entry | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | Measure | Heading |
| B1 | Value | Heading |
| C1 | Check | Heading |
| A2 | Invoice amount | Label |
| B2 | 1234.5 | Numeric amount |
| C2 | =B2*2 |
Arithmetic check |
| A3 | Discount rate | Label |
| B3 | 0.075 | Numeric fraction |
| C3 | =B2*B3 |
Discount amount |
| A4 | Review date | Label |
| B4 | =DATE(2026,10,14) |
Date constructed from year, month, day |
| C4 | =B4+1 |
Next calendar day |
| A5 | Item identifier | Label |
| A6 | Precision sample | Label |
| B6 | 1.23456 | Unrounded input |
| C6 | =B6*100 |
Precision check |
Before entering B5, apply the Text number format to B5, then type 00123. This is an identifier, not a quantity. Save display-practice.pmdx and keep a before-format copy.
Expected calculation values are C2 = 2469, C3 = 92.5875 and C6 = 123.456. C4 represents 15 October 2026. DATE avoids ambiguous day/month text entry; it does not remove locale differences in how dates are displayed.
Set explicit formats
- Select B2. Open the group arrow at Home → Number, or right-click the cell and choose Cell. Select the Number format tab.
- Choose Currency and select the intended currency in the dialog’s Currency list. Use USD for this example and explicitly set Decimal places to 2. Currency selection is a display label; it does not convert exchange rates.
- Format B3 as Percentage with one decimal place. Its intended display is 7.5%, allowing for regional punctuation and spacing.
- Select B4:C4 and choose Date/Time with a format that shows the full year. Check that the displayed dates correspond to 14 and 15 October 2026, irrespective of date order.
- Format B6 as Number with two decimal places, but format C6 with three. Keep C3 at four decimal places for the first check.
Expected displays include 1234.50 in the selected currency, 7.5%, B6 = 1.23, and C6 = 123.456. Thousands separators and symbol placement vary by regional settings. B5 must still show all five characters of 00123.
Prove display is not rounding
Inspect C6. Although B6 displays only 1.23, multiplication should still use 1.23456 and return 123.456. Increase B6’s displayed decimal places to five; the original digits should reappear. Restore its display to two decimals afterward.
Do not enable Precision as displayed for this exercise. It is a separate setting under File → File management → Properties → Calculate, and the manual warns that it can permanently discard precision. Formatting alone should not have that effect. Keep the preserved original file if precision settings have already been altered; restoring more displayed decimals cannot recreate discarded digits.
Change B3 from 0.075 to 0.08. The display should become 8.0% and C3 should become 98.76. Restore 0.075 and verify 92.5875 again. Typing 7.5 as an ordinary numeric value and then applying Percentage represents 750%, not the intended rate.
Advanced: presentation versus billing precision
Enter A7 = Rounded discount and B7 = =ROUND(C3,2). In an English installation this intentionally rounds the calculated discount to 92.59, unlike displaying C3 with two decimals. Format B7 as the same currency as B2.
Enter A8 = Credit and B8 = -12.5; format B8 as Currency. Retain a visible minus sign or another unambiguous negative convention. Avoid Suppress minus sign for this practice. If you enable Don’t show zero, a numeric zero may look blank, so keep that option off when checking missing data.
For growth, add A9 = Second identifier. Set B9 to Text before typing 00007, then inspect that five-character identifier after saving. Applying Text after leading zeros were already lost cannot recover what was originally typed; re-enter from a reliable source.
Elapsed duration beyond 24 hours
Enter A10 = Elapsed work, B10 = =27/24+30/1440 and C10 = =B10*24. B10 represents 27 hours 30 minutes as a fraction of a day; C10, formatted as Number with two decimal places, should show 27.50 hours.
Select B10, open Home → Number using its group arrow, and choose Number format → Category: Custom. In the input field below Format, enter [h]:mm, then confirm. Expected display: 27:30, rather than a clock-time display that wraps after one day. The 2026 manual calls this the endless time format and explicitly documents bracketed hours. Its time-format codes are case-sensitive: lowercase mm means minutes, while uppercase MM means months.
For a changed-input check, set B10 to =49/24+15/1440; expect 49:15 and C10 = 49.25. Restore the original formula and verify 27:30 again. Grow the example with A11 = Additional work, B11 = =2/24, A12 = Total work, B12 = =B10+B11. Apply the same custom format to B11:B12. Expect 2:00 and 29:30. In C12 enter =B12*24, format it as Number with two decimals, and expect 29.50. These arithmetic checks are independent reference calculations; the actual formatting remains a native verification step.
Save, reopen and reset
Save, close and reopen. Recheck B5 and B9, the two-decimal USD format, the two calendar dates and all three original arithmetic checks. Also inspect B10:B12 for 27:30, 2:00, 29:30, C10 = 27.50 and C12 = 29.50; reopen B10’s format dialog to confirm [h]:mm persisted. Change B6’s format back to five decimals and confirm 1.23456 remains. Restore two-decimal display for the final sheet.
To reset only a numeric cell’s appearance, choose Default or Number deliberately; do not use a Text conversion as a blanket reset. To reset all fixture data, use the unchanged copy or re-enter the table. Undo after reopening is not the recovery method.
Troubleshooting
- No numeric effect: investigate imported text; a numeric-looking display is not proof of numeric storage.
- Unexpected currency: choose it in the dialog rather than relying on the quick currency button’s default.
- Date becomes an unfamiliar number: reapply Date/Time and check the intended day.
- Identifier loses zeros: format Text before entry; do not mix identifiers into arithmetic totals.
For wider format exchange issues, see PlanMaker file formats and compatibility.
Version and verification notes
PlanMaker 2026 paid desktop; documentation-qualified workflow for Windows, macOS and Linux. NX builds require matching controls; FreeOffice and mobile editions are not verified. These steps use the English ribbon labels; classic-menu placement is not assumed to match. Documented context-menu or alternate ribbon routes are included where verified.
The instructions in this guide were checked against SoftMaker’s PlanMaker 2026 manual. Expected results are reference checks, not observations from a native application run. No current application screenshot is claimed.