Crystal Reports Tables and formatting number fields

Message

   Table field layouts and formatting number fields seemed be the two things I struggle with in Crystal.

There has be an easy method to get fields formatted nicely within a table layout for example a grid.  Without have to drag individual text boxes and struggle with getting them aligned properly.  I can hear the excel power users laughing at me. :)

Formatting numbers field into a regional telephone format.  Is there no way to apply a data format string to a numeric field to display it in a telephone format?  Beyond having to separate each element into parts and building the back together using crystal basic string commands.  

I just spent the better part of day researching for the answer online without any luck.

Any sugguestions would be appreciated.