Custom formats that hide certain entries

Because Excel number formats consist of four sections (one each for positive numbers, negative numbers, zeros, and text) that determine how specific types of entries are formatted, you can easily create custom formats that hide a particular type of entry by leaving its section blank.

For example, to create a number format that hides the contents of a cell only when it contains text, open the Format Cells dialog box, select the Custom number category on the Number tab, and enter the following number codes in the Type text box:

In this custom number format, Excel applies the standard Comma style formatting to positive and negative numbers, while at the same time displays 0 for cells that contain zero. However, because I failed to add a number format code in the fourth section (after the third semicolon), Excel hides any text entry.

To create a custom format that does just the opposite - that is, hides all numbers and displays only text - you simply enter two semicolons with no number format codes whatsoever:

In this custom number format, the two semicolons delineate three of the possible four sections: the positive number before the first semicolon, the negative number immediately following the first semicolon, and the zero section of the format immediately following the second semicolon. However, because all three sections are empty, Excel hides the display of positive, negative, and zero values, displaying only text entries. If you want to create a custom format that hides the display of all entries in a cell, just add the third semicolon to these other two with no codes (and no spaces) as in:

Because all four sections of the number format are now delineated and empty, Excel suppresses the display of all types of entries in the cells to which this custom number format is applied.