The Percent data type is like the Number data type, but for percentages of numbers.

Percent data types have custom formatting options and accept numeric characters, but are shown with the % symbol and calculated as percentages in formula.

Like other number types, you can convert existing data (for instance fractions and decimals) to the Percent data type (for instance 0.5 to 50%). Setting your cells and columns as the percent data type is helpful for differentiating those numbers you think of in terms of percentage, like interest rates, discounts, or how complete this sentence is (100%).

Configuration Options

Strict

Like other data types, Percent data types can have Strict enabled. Selecting the Strict checkbox for Percent cells will restrict users to input only numeric characters. Percent data types will convert any numerical entry to a percentage. For example, typing "5" results in "5%" and typing "0.5" results in ".5%". Columns that have Strict enabled cannot have cells of different data types.

Currently, formulas are not allowed in Strict Percent cells. When there are existing formulas in a column, cell, or range of cells and you change to strict, those formulas will be converted to the output value. You can always revert by selecting undo from the top left corner of the toolbar, or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Z (CMD + Z for Mac users).

Decimal places

Specify how many decimal places will be show. Like other spreadsheets, Spreadsheet.com defaults to 2 and does not delete any numerals not shown and simply hides them.

Format

The Format dropdown at the bottom of the dialog allows you to customize which characters you use for formatting, like choosing a comma or period as the 1000 separator. This is helpful to format for different countries or style preferences. 

In addition to percents, Spreadsheet.com has unique data types for other numerical values like Currency, Dates, Duration, and more. Or, read on to learn more about the rest of Spreadsheet.com's Data Types.