Understanding the Precision of Numeric Values
Here are three interesting facts about numeric precision in Excel:
-
Excel stores numbers with as much as 15-digit accuracy and converts any digits after
the fifteenth to zeros.
-
Excel drops any digits after the fifteenth in a decimal fraction.
-
Excel uses scientific notation to display numbers that are too long for their cells.
Excel can calculate positive values as large as 9.99E+307 and approximately as small as
1.00E-307. If a formula results in a value outside this range, Excel stores the number as
text and assigns a #NUM! error value to the formula cell.
Examples of Numeric Precision:
| Heading |
Another Heading |
Stored Value |
| 123456789012345678 |
1.23457E+17 |
123456789012345000 |
| 1.23456789012345678 |
1.234568 |
1.23456789012345 |
| 1234567890.12345678 |
123456890 |
1234567890.12345 |
| 123456789012345.678 |
1.23457E+14 |
123456789012345 |