To switch the decimal separator in Excel, adjust your system’s regional settings. On Windows, go to Control Panel > Region > Additional settings, and change the Decimal symbol under the Numbers tab. On Mac, go to System Preferences > Language & Region > Advanced, and adjust the decimal separator there. After changes, restart Excel. Alternatively, in Excel Options > Advanced, uncheck “Use system separators” to set custom separators temporarily for a specific file. For imported data issues, use Find and Replace or Text to Columns to correct formatting.

If you're working with Excel and need to switch the decimal separator from a comma to a dot (or vice versa), it's usually not just about Excel itself—it’s often tied to your system’s regional settings. Here’s how to make it happen without getting stuck.

Check Your System Region Settings First

Excel uses the regional settings of your operating system to determine which decimal separator to use. That means if your Windows or Mac settings are using commas, Excel will follow suit.

• On Windows: Go to Control Panel > Clock and Region > Region. Click "Additional settings" and look under the "Numbers" tab. There, you’ll find options for Decimal symbol and Digit grouping symbol. Change the Decimal symbol to a dot (.) if needed.
• On Mac: Go to System Preferences > Language & Region, then click "Advanced." You can adjust decimal and thousands separators there.

After changing this, restart Excel to see the effect.

Excel Options Only Let You Override Some Formats

You might think Excel has its own setting for decimal separators—but it doesn’t directly. However, there is one place that can affect how numbers are displayed:

Go to File > Options > Advanced, and scroll down to the section labeled “When calculating this workbook.” There’s an option called “Use system separators.” If you uncheck it, Excel lets you set custom separators—but only temporarily for that specific file.

Keep in mind:

• This setting resets every time you open the file on another computer with different region settings.
• It doesn't change existing data formatting—just how new numbers are entered.

Dealing with Imported Data That Uses the Wrong Separator

Sometimes you’re not starting fresh—you’ve got a file where numbers are stored as text because of mismatched decimal symbols. In that case:

• Try using Find and Replace: Press Ctrl H, enter a comma in the “Find what” field and a dot in “Replace with,” then click “Replace All.”
• Or use Text to Columns:
  • Select the column with numbers
  • Go to Data > Text to Columns
  • Choose “Delimited,” click Next
  • Uncheck all delimiters, click Next again
  • Under Column data format, choose “General” and click Finish

This method often forces Excel to reinterpret the values correctly after replacing commas.

Changing decimal separators in Excel isn’t complicated once you know it depends more on your system than Excel itself. But if you're moving files between computers or users, keep in mind that these settings don't always travel with the file.

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