Itqualityassurance
- What is the normal alignment of numeric values?
- Should numbers be right justified?
- Are numbers left justified?
What is the normal alignment of numeric values?
Numbers are normally aligned so that the various places (unit, tens, etc.) are in columns. If the numbers are integers, this just means right-aligning the numbers. If they have decimal fractions, then the decimal places should be aligned, with the units digits all in a vertical line.
Should numbers be right justified?
Always right-align headings and data in columns so that units, tens, hundreds and thousands are aligned and numbers of equal value are easily comparable.
Are numbers left justified?
Alignment Matters
Numerical data is read right-to-left; that is, we compare numbers by first looking at their ones digit, then their tens, then their hundreds, and so on.
