Parentheses for negative numbers in Excel 2011

Microsoft hosts a forum for Office for Mac, please click Office for Mac Product Forums to get there, that is where you should post your question.

Office 2011 and OS X 10.11.3 fixed the issue for me.

Same problem here since upgrading to Yosemite. I've left feedback on Apple's site. Note that this feature works fine in Numbers, so Apple will likely expect the applications to adapt to a changed API.

Thanks jmgathg for the workaround, and also note that Excel offers the most recently used custom codes in the list under Custom, so for most people it shouldn't be much of a hassle unless you forget to go look under Custom.

I don't seem to have that option. I have a CURRENCY and CURRENCY [0] in that ribbon. And neither work. And when I try to modify like you said I just get back to the same formatting options, none of which have negative numbers in a parentheses.

The best I can do it cut and special paste formatting from an older spreadsheet that does have the parentheses.

Your "Currency 2" must be a saved style from before the problem arose in Yosemite, so your solve is acting in a way like my cut and paste option.

I just updated to OS 10.10.3 from 10.10.2. The problem is still there. This is extremely inconvenient for accountants and finance people.

Another couple alternatives for now:

1. After you do the custom format for the whole sheet, you can save it as a template in Excel. Then just use this "customized" template to create new excel file.

2. You can also set the custom format with other formatting attributes as a Style in this customized template, so it is there when you want to format new sheets in the same file.

definitely Yosemite....I did not have this problem until installing the update....can't stand the negative numbers without parentheses....other quirky things have happened to my finder operations, as well.....weird stuff

I am based in the UK and have experienced this problem for ages, even before Yoselmite.

When I visit the US from time to time and go to an Apple store, I have looked and saw that the negative brackets worked.

However, under UK language, it has never worked.

Seems we are stuck with this problem now.

For me, this is definetely an OSX issue not Microsoft

Same issue using the 2016 Preview. I found a support article for the Windows version on the same problem which says its when your computer is set up to a non-English language. So I tried switching from English to English U.S. but that didn't work.

Even if it is an Apple problem, it seems like MS could fix this quiet easily. Going to send it as a feedback problem.

Update - I have a Mac Air with Bootcamp. I have this same problem with Open Office's spreadsheet on Windows 8 on the mac. So this must be a Yosemite problem. Really surprised I would have this on Windows 8 also. I read on other forums that all spreadsheet programs are having this problem.

Apple does not want to enter into the Finance/accounting market; that is obvious.

I also have this issue. Also issue is there using OpenOffice and Yosemite. Both were fine using Mavericks so it must be Yosemite messing things up.

Sorry to say that with the new Office 2016 for Mac the issue remains. I just installed the preview version of the new Office. It appears no one wants or cannot bring this feature back.

After updating to Yosemite I am having the same problem as you are with the negative formatting. I haven't been able to find a solution either. Hopefully there will be an update soon that fixes this issue.

I have the same problem as you under Yosemite. But my guess is that some people have the issue and others don't because of different language/international settings. Now which are the culprit(s), I do not know.

I have tried Jonathan's work-around to get excel to recognize negative numbers, but every time I use any of his solutions Excel flips me into 'currency' format. I am very sure you all have gotten them to work well, but I am new to macbook pro after about a decade long absence.

I never had to use parenthesis to distinguish negative numbers on macs in the distant pat, so this is all rather foreign to me.

Same problem! Yosemite blows; it didn't work with and also burned my time capsule, rejected to work with Samsund SSD and now complications with even Excel. No timely diligent support from Apple, this brand is on the downfall! I am not buying any more Mac products, this is it!