Dealing With the Euro

The newer changes in European currency brought with it a renewed interest in the Euro on the part of Excel users. Many Excel users are wondering how they can make sure their system can properly display the Euro currency symbol. In reality, there are three things that need to be in place to handle the Euro symbol properly. First, your operating system must be updated to handle the symbol. Secondly, Excel must be updated or configured to handle it. Finally, if you are going to print, you may need to make sure that your printer will handle it.

From an operating system standpoint, you should have no problem if you are using an operating system newer than Windows 98. If you are using Windows 95 or Windows NT, you will need to download a system patch from the Microsoft Web site (http://microsoft.com/windows/euro.asp). Once installed, your operating system will be ready to go. You can then go to the Regional Settings applet on the Control Panel and paste the Euro symbol into the Currency Symbol field (you will need to use the Character Map program to do this). This configures your system to use the Euro symbol by default for your currency.

Excel can recognize and handle the Euro symbol. If you set up your Regional Settings to use the Euro symbol, then whenever you use a currency formatting style, the proper symbol will appear in Excel. If you did not change your Regional Settings, then you can still set up a custom format by following steps detailed in past issues of WordTips. The only difference is that you would enter the Euro symbol as part of the format you are designing.

If you are creating printouts that contain the Euro symbol, you may run into other problems. First of all, if you are using TrueType fonts, you will need to update your fonts to versions that contain the Euro symbol. You can do this various Web sites, including the Microsoft site as indicated above. If you are using printer fonts, then you need to be aware that not all printers have built-in fonts that handle the Euro. You will need to check your printer documentation or your printer manufacturer's Web site for information and upgrade information.

If you are still having problems after following these steps, check out the detailed information on using the Euro symbol at the Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/Office/previous/solutions/euro.htm.