what type of data is you want to format..?
There is an another way ie. TEXT TO COLUMNS..

For example some time what a data is copied or pasted / Exported then gets converted into text
so we generally have to press F2 on the cell and press ENTER to make it normal..

there is an alternative as well
select the range you want to format..
Press text to columns button and press next ---> next ---> Finish..

It will automatically change the format..

Regards,