The default currency in Windows affects the currency symbol in various default and Microsoft applications which are integrated into the OS, like Excel for example. If you need to change the default currency from dollars to euros (to use its symbol in the above mentioned apps), you can quickly do it in the Control Panel. After all, if you live in Europe it makes sense why you’d want to switch to euros.
Below, I’ll detail how to change the default OS currency as well as access other currency formatting options in Windows 7, 8 and 10 – the process is quite similar for all of these Windows versions, with the main difference being how you access the Control Panel.
Access currency settings in Windows 7 and 10
Open the Start menu and type ‘currency’ in the search field. Select ‘Change the way currency is displayed’ from the results.
Access currency settings in Windows 8
If you computer is running under Windows 8 or 8.1, simply type ‘currency’ in the search box available on the Start Screen. You’ll see “Change the way currency is displayed” in the results. Click on this option to continue.
Customize system currency in the “Regions” menu
If you followed the instructions above the Region settings window should now be open. Click on “Additional settings”.
On the following screen, select the ‘Currency’ tab.
Then, click on the downward arrow next to the “Currency symbol” setting and a drop-down list will open, from where you can select euros as your default Windows currency instead of dollars.
If you need to work with another currency symbol that’s not available in the drop-down menu, you can add whichever you want by copying it from an existing document, a webpage or by using the “Insert Symbol” option in a Word document and then copy/pasting it in the text box of the “Currency symbol” option.
Click on OK to apply the changes and then click the OK button again to close the Region window.
