percentage to get number in Calc

users
#1

I have a number $646.15
and a number $556.85
How do I make a formula in a new cell that is the percentage of the first number that equals the second number?

#2

Hi :slight_smile:
Ok, say the numbers are written along the top row such that

A1 = 646.15
A2 = 556.85

then

A4 = A2/A1

Click on A4 and go up to the menus at the top to choose

Format - Cell - Number
in the first box "Category" select "Percentage"

I think it's better to avoid keying in the currency symbol and just format those cells as "Currency" instead of as "Percentages".  That way you still get the currency symbol anyway but don't have to type it in.  It also avoids confusions.  Note that i left a gap between the data and the calculation purely because i think it looks nicer.

Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#3

Does:

A1 = 646.15
A2 = 556.85
A3 = =A2/A1 Format|Cells|Numbers|Percent
(86.18%)

not work for you?

http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/documentation/

#4

Hi :slight_smile:
Ok, say the numbers are written along the top row such that

A1 = 646.15
A2 = 556.85

then

A4 = A2/A1

Click on A4 and go up to the menus at the top to choose

Format - Cell - Number
in the first box "Category" select "Percentage"

I think it's better to avoid keying in the currency symbol and just format those cells as "Currency" instead of as "Percentages". That way you still get the currency symbol anyway but don't have to type it in. It also avoids confusions. Note that i left a gap between the data and the calculation purely because i think it looks nicer.

Thanks for the solution.
I feel stupid for making it seem hard. :slight_smile:

#5

Hi :slight_smile:
Lol, these things happen.  Possibly time for a quick break from the machine? Here it is soo late that it's not even early again anymore, beyond just being tomorrow and already well into today. 
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#6

Hi. A spreadsheet is a different way of working. At school we would have
learned 556.85 /646.15*100 to calculate the percentage but formatting in
the spreadsheet as a percentage saves multiplying by 100.
steve

#7

Hi :slight_smile:
Hmm, i know BODMAS 'should' calculate that correctly but it's possible that a program or the person typing it in might incorrectly read an equation like that as
= 556.85 / (646.15*100)
Also any further calculations done using the correct percentage would have to remember to divide by 100 which could become cumbersome.

It is good to know of different ways of handling a problem in case one way is troublesome for some reason that wasn't (or couldn't) be stated earlier in a thread.
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#8

Am 26.09.2011 05:58, Steve Edmonds wrote:

Hi. A spreadsheet is a different way of working. At school we would have
learned 556.85 /646.15*100 to calculate the percentage but formatting in
the spreadsheet as a percentage saves multiplying by 100.
steve

But 86.17968 is wrong. 86.17968 does not reflect the relation between the 2 numbers which is 0.8617968.

#9

Am 26.09.2011 05:58, Steve Edmonds wrote:

Hi. A spreadsheet is a different way of working. At school we would have
learned 556.85 /646.15*100 to calculate the percentage but formatting in
the spreadsheet as a percentage saves multiplying by 100.
steve

But 86.17968 is wrong. 86.17968 does not reflect the relation between the 2 numbers which is 0.8617968.

#10

Hi :slight_smile:
It's not really wrong but there needs to be some indication that it is a percentage figure.  The original numbers don't really warrant more than 2 decimal places.  Another way of removing problems with ambiguity would be to write the equation as
= 556.85 * 100 / 646.15
Then it doesn't matter if (100/646.15) is calculated first or the (556.85 * 100), either way the answer is about the same, hopefully exactly the same. 
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#11

Am 26.09.2011 14:58, Tom Davies wrote:

Hi :slight_smile:
It's not really wrong but there needs to be some indication that it is a percentage figure. The original numbers don't really warrant more than 2 decimal places. Another way of removing problems with ambiguity would be to write the equation as
= 556.85 * 100 / 646.15
Then it doesn't matter if (100/646.15) is calculated first or the (556.85 * 100), either way the answer is about the same, hopefully exactly the same.
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

Why not simply formatting the correct value as percentage? This way we have the indication that it is a percentage figure while having the correct relation for further calculations.

#12

Am 26.09.2011 14:58, Tom Davies wrote:

Hi :slight_smile:
It's not really wrong but there needs to be some indication that it is a percentage figure. The original numbers don't really warrant more than 2 decimal places. Another way of removing problems with ambiguity would be to write the equation as
= 556.85 * 100 / 646.15
Then it doesn't matter if (100/646.15) is calculated first or the (556.85 * 100), either way the answer is about the same, hopefully exactly the same.
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

Why not simply formatting the correct value as percentage? This way we have the indication that it is a percentage figure while having the correct relation for further calculations.

#13

I agree if spread sheet formatting is used. The proportion or ratio is
0.8617968, the percentage is 86.17968. If you were calculating the
percentage using a pencil and paper you would use 556.85 /646.15*100.
If I want to perform another calculation in another cell, such as the
percentage calculated above-5%, I have to be careful.
If
A1 = 646.15
A2 = 556.85
A4 = A2/A1 format as %
A5 = A4-5 is wrong. (very simple example)

Sometimes it can just be simpler to calculate the percentage and work in
% for subsequent operations than to calculate and format as %.

#14

Quite so. But =A4-5% is right! (Er, provided you mean 5% of the original, not 5% of the first answer.)

Brian Barker

#15

Hi :slight_smile:
True.  It's good to have options to suit different circumstances ;) 
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#16

Hi :slight_smile:
Hmm, i know BODMAS 'should' calculate that correctly but it's possible that a program or the person typing it in might incorrectly read an equation like that as
= 556.85 / (646.15*100)
Also any further calculations done using the correct percentage would have to remember to divide by 100 which could become cumbersome.

It is good to know of different ways of handling a problem in case one way is troublesome for some reason that wasn't (or couldn't) be stated earlier in a thread.
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

From: Steve Edmonds <steve.edmonds@ptglobal.com>
Subject: Re: [libreoffice-users] percentage to get number in Calc
To: users@global.libreoffice.org
Date: Monday, 26 September, 2011, 4:58

Hi. A spreadsheet is a different way of working. At school we would have
learned 556.85 /646.15*100 to calculate the percentage but formatting in
the spreadsheet as a percentage saves multiplying by 100.
steve

>> Hi :slight_smile:
>> Ok, say the numbers are written along the top row such that
>>
>> A1 = 646.15
>> A2 = 556.85
>>
>> then
>>
>> A4 = A2/A1
>>
>> Click on A4 and go up to the menus at the top to choose
>>
>> Format - Cell - Number
>> in the first box "Category" select "Percentage"
>>
>> I think it's better to avoid keying in the currency symbol and just
>> format those cells as "Currency" instead of as "Percentages". That
>> way you still get the currency symbol anyway but don't have to type
>> it in. It also avoids confusions. Note that i left a gap between
>> the data and the calculation purely because i think it looks nicer.
> Thanks for the solution.
> I feel stupid for making it seem hard. :slight_smile:
>>
>> Regards from
>> Tom :slight_smile:
>>

The problem with percentages, we are lacking the context. Is it an
intermediate value or the final value? And is the end user the same as
the person crunching the numbers? And finally, what is the best way to
display the data? There is no absolutely correct answer that works in
every situation. Sometimes it is more convenient to display the values
with the % sign and in other cases it may be better to display the
percent value without the % sign after each number.

#17

** Reply to message from Tom Davies <tomdavies04@yahoo.co.uk> on Mon, 26 Sep
2011 13:58:52 +0100 (BST)

It depends on what the user wants in the cell. If he wants the actual
percentage then use proper mathematical notation and write it as
(556.85/646.15)*100. That way there is no ambiguity for people or the
processor. If, however, since the percentage is used in calculations then
leave it as 556.85/646.15 and just change the cell format to percentage. That
will display the actual percentage as 86.xx, but leave the value for
calculations as .86xx.

Cliff