How to Make Fractions Smaller in Excel (2 Possible Ways)

In this article, we present 2 methods to auto-format fractions such that they shrink to smaller characters in the cells in which they appear, to look the same way as fractions in MS Word.

How to Display Fractions in Excel?

Before we apply special formatting to change the size, let’s display a fraction in Excel using typical number formatting.

Steps:

Select the blank cells (in this example, B2) where the fractions will be entered (in this example, we want to type ¾).
Go to the Home tab >> Number >> Dialog Launcher button. Or, just press CTRL+1.

A Format Cells window will pop up.

In the Number section, select Fraction, then choose Up to one digit (1/4).

Cell B2 is formatted such that it can hold a fraction of one digit numerator and one digit denominator.

Type your fraction here (3/4).

Notes:

Enter double or triple digit fractions by choosing Up to two digits or Up to three digits respectively. So, to enter a fraction like 3/14, choose Up to two digits. Likewise, to display a fraction like 3/123, choose Up to three digits.

How to Make Fractions Smaller in Excel: 2 Methods

If we write a fraction in smaller characters, it looks like a real mathematical expression. There isn’t a way to shrink fractions directly in Excel, but the following 2 methods are effective workarounds.

You will need to use a keyboard with a number pad to make use of these methods.

Method 1 – Using ALT Codes for Fractions

There are certain ALT codes to shrink the display of certain fractions in Excel. Here’s a list of all the ALT codes available for this purpose:

Let’s use one of them.

Steps:

Select the cells (In this example, cell B2) that will contain the fractions in smaller characters.

Press ALT+0188 or ALT+172 on the number pad of your keyboard.

This ALT code is only for displaying ¼ in smaller characters. The ALT codes for other individual fractions are provided above.

The fraction is displayed in smaller characters.

Method 2 – Using a VBA Code to Make Specified Fractions Smaller

We can also use VBA code to display some specified fractions in smaller characters.

Steps:

Go to the Developer tab >> click on Visual Basic >> Insert >> Module.

A module window will appear.

Copy the following VBA code and paste it into this module window:

Sub MakeFractionsSmallerInExcel()
    Dim i As Integer, numer As String, denom As String
    Dim orig As String, uFrac As String
    For i = 1 To 63
        If i = 0 Then
            orig = i & "/64"
            numer = ChrW(&H2070)
            denom = ChrW(&H2082)
        ElseIf i Mod 32 = 0 Then
            orig = i / 32 & "/2"
            numer = udfNumerator(i / 32)
            denom = ChrW(&H2082)
        ElseIf i Mod 16 = 0 Then
            orig = i / 16 & "/4"
            numer = udfNumerator(i / 16)
            denom = ChrW(&H2084)
        ElseIf i Mod 8 = 0 Then
            orig = i / 8 & "/8"
            numer = udfNumerator(i / 8)
            denom = ChrW(&H2088)
        ElseIf i Mod 4 = 0 Then
            orig = i / 4 & "/16"
            numer = udfNumerator(i / 4)
            denom = ChrW(&H2081) & ChrW(&H2086)
        ElseIf i Mod 2 = 0 Then
            orig = i / 2 & "/32"
            numer = udfNumerator(i / 2)
            denom = ChrW(&H2083) & ChrW(&H2082)
        Else
            orig = i & "/64"
            numer = udfNumerator(i)
            denom = ChrW(&H2086) & ChrW(&H2084)
        End If
        Application.AutoCorrect.AddReplacement orig, numer & ChrW(&H2044) & denom
        'Cells(Rows.Count, 1).End(xlUp).Offset(1, 0) = Chr(32) & orig
        'Cells(Rows.Count, 1).End(xlUp).Offset(0, 1) = numer & ChrW(&H2044) & denom
    Next i
End Sub
Function udfNumerator(n As Integer) As String
    Dim it As Integer, it1 As Integer, str As String, str1 As String
    If n > 9 Then
        it = Int(n / 10)
        Select Case it
            Case 1
                str = Chr(185)
            Case 2, 3
                str = Chr(176 + it)
            Case 0, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
                str = ChrW(&H2070 + it)
        End Select
    End If
    it1 = n Mod 10
    Select Case it1
        Case 1
            str1 = Chr(185)
        Case 2, 3
            str1 = Chr(176 + it1)
        Case 0, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
            str1 = ChrW(&H2070 + it1)
    End Select
    udfNumerator = str & str1
End Function