Applies to

Smartsheet
  • Pro
  • Business
  • Enterprise

Format your data

Formatting data in Smartsheet lets you enhance your information visually, making it easier to interpret and analyze.

Who can use this?

Plans:

  • Smartsheet
  • Pro
  • Business
  • Enterprise

Format numbers and text in your sheet using the buttons on the toolbar at the top of the Smartsheet window.

Not all buttons on the toolbar will be visible for certain views or screen sizes. If you don't see a button you need, select More.

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Format

You can also complete formatting tasks with Keyboard Shortcuts.

Conditional formatting

You can set rules to change the format of a cell when the conditions you define are met. For example, you can highlight a row in red when a deadline is past due, and a task is not marked as complete.

Select Conditional Formatting and follow the instructions on your screen.

Format groups of data

You can format groups of data all at once. Follow the guidance below to help with this.

To apply formatting toTake this action before you click a formatting icon
An entire rowSelect the row number to apply row formatting to existing and newly added cells in the row.
An entire columnSelect the column header to apply column formatting to existing and newly added cells in the column.
An entire sheetHighlight all columns in the sheet by selecting the left-most column's header, scrolling to the right, then Shift+click the right-most column's header. When you release your click, all columns and rows in the sheet should be highlighted, and you can then set formatting for the entire sheet.

Format options

Indent and outdent

Indent rows to create an organized structure for your sheet, with child rows that fall under a parent row. For example, you can use these hierarchical relationships and formulas to automatically calculate a weighted percent complete on a parent task based on data in the child tasks. Details about how to do this are included in the Parent Rollup article.

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Format

Font and cell format

Draw attention to certain elements of your sheet by setting various font and cell background formats. For example, you can set bold font for parent rows to make them stand out more.

After selecting an area of the sheet, you can change font type and size, background color, alignment, and text wrapping in cells. You cannot apply borders to cells or rows.
All available fonts and cell formats are under your sheet's name in the top navigation bar.
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Wrap text

Select the cell where you want to wrap text and select Wrap Text

Clear formatting

Use Clear Format  to return your selection to the default font and cell background. This is useful for quickly removing formatting from a section of your sheet without removing the data in the cells.

Format painter

To quickly copy an existing format on your sheet to other cells, use the Format Painter tool:

  1. Select the cells that contain your desired format.
  2. Select Format Painter .
  3. Select the desired cell to copy that formatting to.
     

    Double-click the Format Painter icon to lock the format. You can then continuously apply the locked format to cells. Select the Format Painter icon again, or press Esc to release the locked format.

Highlight changes

Enable Highlight Changes to see recent edits made to your sheet. 

Numeric formatting

The buttons for formatting numbers are grouped at the end of the toolbar. You may need to select More if you don't see these buttons on the toolbar. There you have the following options:

  • Currency Format to format numeric values with the appropriate currency symbol and decimal position.
  • Percentage Format to treat numbers as a percentage. If you format a cell this way, the value 0.95, for example, is displayed as 95%. The value 95 is shown as 9,500%.
  • Thousands Format to include the thousands separator and decimal.
  • Increase Decimal or Decrease Decimal to move the decimal point.
  • Date formats to define how you want to display dates

Keep in mind the following...

  • Smartsheet treats numbers and other characters (letters, punctuation) as text. You can’t use the numbers tools with text values.
  • The symbols used for decimal and thousands separators for currency and number format are controlled by the Regional Preferences specified for your account. For more information, see the Change the Language and Date Notation article.
  • Column headers are always formatted in white, bold text with a grey background. You cannot change this style.
  • Formatting is automatically applied to a cell if it's directly above, below, or between two cells that contain the same formatting and are on the same indent level. 
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