How to use the FIXED function
What is the FIXED function?
The FIXED function rounds a number to the specified number of decimals, formats the number in decimal format using a period and commas, and returns the result as text.
How to round numbers?
Rounding is a method to simplify a number by reducing its digits while keeping its approximate value close to the original value.
There are a few common ways to round:
-
- Round to a set number of decimal places, rounding 2.13579 to 2 decimal places gives 2.14.
- Round up or down to the nearest integer, rounding up 2.3 gives 3. Rounding down 2.3 gives 2.
- Round to a set increment, rounding to the nearest 10 rounds 17 to 20.
- Round to significant figures, rounding 2.333 to 3 significant figures gives 2.33.
When rounding, look at the first digit after where you want to round. If it's 5 or more, round up. If less than 5, round down. Rounding makes numbers cleaner and easier to work with in many everyday situations, however, they may also cause rounding errors like rounded values can compound errors. Rounding measurements and constants may reduces precision. It is better to round numbers after performing calculations than before.
What is a decimal place?
A decimal place refers to each position held by a digit in a number. The first decimal place is the tenths place (1/10), the second is the hundreds place (1/100) and so on.
What is a comma?
Commas are frequently used in large numbers to help read and interpret the values easier. Commas separate thousands place values in large numbers. For example:
- 10,000 - ten thousand
- 100,000 - one hundred thousand
- 1,000,000 - one million
The comma creates groups of three digits, making it easier to count the zeroes and understand the scale.
In decimal numbers with both whole and fractional parts, commas separate the whole number groups of three digits. For example:
- 3,421.256
- 102,734,221.985
The third argument [no_commas] determines if commas will be displayed or not. The image above shows the difference in cells C3 and C4.
What is an integer?
An integer is a whole number that can be positive, negative, or zero, but not a fraction or decimal.
What other Excel functions round numbers?
| ROUND | Rounds a number to a specified number of digits |
| ROUNDUP | Rounds a number up, away from zero |
| ROUNDDOWN | Rounds a number down, towards zero |
| MROUND | Rounds a number to the nearest multiple of a specified value |
| CEILING | Rounds a number up to its nearest multiple. |
| ODD | Returns number rounded up to the nearest odd integer. |
| EVEN | Rounds a number up to the nearest even whole number. |
| FIXED | Rounds a number to the specified number of decimals, lets you ignore comma separators. |
Formula in cell C3:
Formula in cell C4:
Excel Function Syntax
FIXED(number, [decimals], [no_commas])
Arguments
| number | Required. The number you want to round and convert to text. |
| [decimals] | Optional. The number of digits to the right of the decimal point. Negative numbers to the left of the decimal point. |
| [no_commas] | Optional. Default value is FALSE. TRUE returns no commas in text string. |
Functions in 'Math and trigonometry' category
The FIXED function function is one of many functions in the 'Math and trigonometry' category.
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