Buzz
This article provides instructions on how to replace commas with periods in Excel. Manually replacing commas with periods in Excel can be time-consuming. This issue often occurs because European countries use commas as decimal separators instead of periods. Fortunately, the process of changing the separator is quite simple.
Steps to follow
Use the Find & Select tool
Open the Excel worksheet that needs updating. Locate the file on your desktop or in a specific folder, and double-click to open it.
Click on the Find & Select button. This button is located at the top right corner of the screen. It's called “Find & Select” and displays either a magnifying glass or binoculars icon, depending on the version of Excel you are using.
Click on the Replace option in the menu. A dropdown menu will appear, and Replace will be the second option from the top, located just left of the arrow icon between the letters “b” and “c.”
Fill in the fields. A window will pop up displaying two fields: “Find what” and “Replace with.” Enter a comma in the “Find what” field, and a period in the “Replace with” field.
Click on the Replace All button. Clicking this option will replace all commas in the document with periods.
Change the number separator
Open the Excel spreadsheet that needs updating. Find the file saved on your desktop or in a folder, and double-click to open it.
Click on the File button in the top-left corner. The File option is always the first choice in the menu at the top of the Microsoft Office document. You'll see it in the top-left corner of the window.
Click on the Options button at the bottom-left. The menu on the left side of the screen will be green. The Options button is located at the bottom-left of this menu.
Click on the Advanced option in the left menu. The Excel Options window will appear with another menu on the left side. You'll find the Advanced option just below Ease of Access.
Uncheck the Use system separators option. This option is near the bottom of the Editing options section. It is checked by default. You can uncheck it by clicking on the box, and it will be deselected.
Update the Decimal separator and Thousands separator if needed. Depending on the default settings, one of these fields may use a comma. Replace the comma with a period and click “OK” at the bottom of the window to complete the change.
