It’s important to understand that DOLLAR returns text and not a number, so the result cannot be used in a numeric calculation. If the goal is simply to format a number as Currency, applying a standard number format is a better option. Video: How to use number formatting. The DOLLAR function takes two arguments, number and decimals. Number is the number to format, decimals controls how the number is rounded and specifies the number of digits to the right of the decimal point. Decimals is optional and defaults to 2. For example: One use of the DOLLAR function is to concatenate a formatted number to a text string, since number formatting is lost during concatenation. For example, with the number $99.00 in cell A1, formatted as Currency, the following formula does not show Currency: With the DOLLAR function, formatting can be maintained:
DOLLAR vs. TEXT
The DOLLAR function is a specialized function to apply Currency formatting only. The TEXT function is a generalized function that does the same thing. TEXT can convert numeric values to text in any number format, including currency, date, time, percentage, and so on.
Notes
The DOLLAR function converts a number to text using currency number format: $#,##0.00_);($#,##0.00). The default for decimals is 2. If decimals is negative, number will be rounded to the left of the decimal point. The name of the function and the currency symbol used is based on language settings of the computer. The TEXT function is a more flexible way to achieve the same result.
Dave Bruns
Hi - I’m Dave Bruns, and I run Exceljet with my wife, Lisa. Our goal is to help you work faster in Excel. We create short videos, and clear examples of formulas, functions, pivot tables, conditional formatting, and charts.
