Syntax. FIXED(number,decimals,no_commas)
Definition. This function converts a numeric value into text with a fixed number of decimal places.
Arguments
number (required). The numeric value you want to convert into text.
decimals (optional). The number of digits to the right of the decimal point.
no_commas (optional). A logical value. If no_commas is TRUE, the FIXED() function does not display commas in the returned text.
Background. Like the DOLLAR() function, the FIXED() function rounds the number and converts it into text. The decimal places indicate whether a value is rounded or, if it is not, how many decimal places the value should have.
In Excel, numbers can have a maximum of 15 digit places. The maximum valid value for decimal places is 127. If the decimal places argument is a negative value, the value is rounded that number of digits to the left of the decimal point. If no decimal places are indicated, two decimal places are used. If you specify the logical value FALSE or nothing in the no_commas argument, the returned text contains commas.
The difference between the Format/Cells command on the Number tab and the FIXED() function is that FIXED() converts a numeric value into text. A number formatted with the Format/Cells command is still a numeric value. Despite this difference, you can use numbers converted with the FIXED() function in other formulas, because for calculations Excel converts numbers displayed as text values into numeric values.
Example. Assume that you want to ensure that a column with number values that is used for a mail merge in Word is not changed. Use the FIXED() function to convert the values into text in a new column. This column can then be used for the mail merge in Word. Here are some more examples:
=FIXED(12.56)returns12.56.=FIXED(1234.56,-1,1)returns1230.=FIXED(12.56,0)returns13.=FIXED(1234.56,-2,TRUE)returns1200.=FIXED(12.46,0)returns12.=FIXED(1234.56,-3,0)returns1,000.=FIXED(PI(),3)returns3.142.=FIXED(1234.56,-4,FALSE)returns0.