Calculation Gives Incorrect Number of Decimal Places
  
PSS ID Number: Q117471
Article last modified on 03-07-1997
 

 

 

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5.00 5.10
MACINTOSH
kbusage kbdocerr
 
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The information in this article applies to:
 
 - Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 5.0, 5.1
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SYMPTOMS
========
 
If you are using Word to calculate percentage, Word's result may be rounded
to more decimal places than appear in the calculation. According to the
Word user's guide, the result should display with the same number of
decimal places as the number with the most decimal places in the
calculation. For example, if you calculate 17.5 percent of 45 (expressed as
45*17.5%), you would expect the result to be 7.9, but the result is 7.875.
 
CAUSE
=====
 
When Word considers a percentage, it moves the decimal place two places to
the right, and expresses the percentage in terms of parts of 100 before it
performs the calculation. For example 1% is .01, 10% is .1, 10.5% is .105,
and 10.6789% is .106789. Thus, a percentage always has two more decimal
places than appear in the calculation.
 
WORKAROUND
==========
 
First, round the percentage figure to write the percentage out to the
number of decimal places you want in the result. For example, if you want
the result rounded to two decimal places, write 10% as 10.00, or 2% as
2.00, or 7.5% as 7.50. Then divide this number by 100.
 
A common instance of this problem occurs in working with money. For
example, when calculating a 17.5 percent tax, Word gives a result having
three decimal places, even though money commonly works with two decimal
places. In this case, you can work around the problem as follows:
 
To calculate 17.5 percent of $45 use the formula:
 
   45 * (17.50/100)
 
MORE INFORMATION
================
 
The "Microsoft Word for the Macintosh User's Guide, version 5.0,
incorrectly states on page 307, "When Word calculates it displays the
result with the same number of decimal points as the number with the most
decimal places in the selection."
 
The Word 4.0 user's guide has a similar error on page 188, as does the Word
3.0 user's guide on page 201.
 
KBCategory: kbusage kbdocerr
KBSubcategory:
Additional reference words: 3.01 3.02 4.00 5.00 5.10 math Command Equal
macword5 Equals =
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Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1997.