Every now and then I get a workbook from a client with numbers in Accounting format. If all the numbers are the same length, the currency symbols line up nicely. However, if the numbers are different lengths, we have trouble aligning Excel currency symbols.
Currency Symbols Do Not Line Up
For example, in the screen shot below, the $ sign in cell B4 is a bit to the right of the symbol in B5. It’s not much, but it looks sloppy, and some fonts show the effect more obviously than others. I added the blue line to make it easier to see the variations in column B.
Trying to Fix It
I’ve spent way too much time trying to fix the problem, with custom formatting, different fonts, and yelling. Even fist shaking didn’t help — very odd!
So, I learned to live with the problem, and tried to convince the client to use Currency format instead. The dollar signs aren’t supposed to line up in that format, so it’s much less stressful.
Finding the Solution
Finally, this weekend, after another attempt at lining up the dollar signs, I found the solution to the wobbly Accounting symbols. I checked the horizontal alignment for the cells, and discovered that my client had formatted them as Right aligned.
I clicked the button at the bottom right of the Alignment group on the Ribbon’s Home tab, to open the Format Cells dialog box.
Then, on the Alignment tab, I changed the Horizontal alignment to General, and clicked OK.
Problem Solved
Miraculously, all the dollar signs lined up, without a single wobble, for the different font and sizes.
I’m not sure why the right alignment had been applied earlier, because numbers would automatically align to the right. Anyway, the alignment is the first thing I’ll check, the next time I have trouble with wandering currency symbols.
And if you already knew how to fix this problem, you should have told me years ago!
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You’re awesome! This has plagued me for years. And since this is such an old post, I sorely lament not finding it earlier, but as Thanksgiving is coming, the main thing is – gratitude! Thank you for sharing this.
Thanks, Liz! I’m glad you finally found this post, and Happy Thanksgiving!
Excellent solution for a problem that crept up. Thanks Debra! And Google for helping me find it.
You’re welcome, Roger, and thanks for your comment. I’m glad Google helped you find this blog post!
This was driving me batty in a spreadsheet I half built and half inherited from the client. Thanks for the great post explaining the cause and more importantly the action item!!
I found another solution. I don’t know why it works. I select the column and left align the cells. The $ signs move to the left but the amounts stay to the right. I then either leave the header cell alone or center it by itself.