Here is my issue. I have columns that look something like this:

-0.1134*
1.2203
8.3131***
...

I want to align the decimal points, and I want to reduce the decimal places to 3. This is of course a problem because the numbers with the asterisks are read as text, not numbers. And yes, I need the asterisks to be attached to the numbers.

My attempt at a workaround was to split the data into two columns, one with just the numbers and the second with any asterisks, i.e.

-0.1134 *
1.12203
8.3131 ***
...

and so forth. Then, my plan was to write a cell format for the numbers which looks like this: 0.?00;-0.?00;0.000;@ and align that cell right, align the asterisks to the left, and it should work. I've done similar things making tables in html, where this strategy has worked. Unfortunately, excel automatically pads all cells so I can't get the asterisks to butt up against the numbers. How can I get the formatted outcome I am looking for?