I would like to have a cell display optional decimal places which is typically done done with the '#' character. But if there are no digits other than zeros in the fraction it still displays the decimal point. The general format is typically used for optional decimals, but I am using spaces for alignment, so I can't use that. Or so I thought...
You can add other chars to control spacing when using the general format...
"General " or " General " or "_(General_)"
Who knew?
I thought this might not be obvious in case others find this useful.