Separation, Fortive Shares Distributed Per Danaher Share, Ratio

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Discontinued Operations (Narrative) (Details) $ in Millions	1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended								6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
Discontinued Operations (Narrative) (Details) $ in Millions	Aug. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Sep. 28, 2018 USD ($)	Jun. 29, 2018 USD ($)	Mar. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Sep. 29, 2017 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Jul. 01, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Jun. 15, 2016
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Separation, Fortive shares distributed per Danaher share, ratio															0.5
Long-term debt			$ 9,740.3				$ 10,522.1					$ 9,740.3	$ 10,522.1
Payments of debt extinguishment costs												0.0	0.0	$ 188.1
Discontinued operation, revenues prior Separation													0.0	3,029.8
Discontinued operation, income tax benefit													(22.3)	157.0
Sales			$ 5,363.5	$ 4,853.1	$ 4,981.0	$ 4,695.4	$ 5,085.7	$ 4,528.2	$ 4,510.1	$ 4,205.7		19,893.0	18,329.7	16,882.4
Fortive
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Long-term debt		$ 3,400.0
Fortive's cash payments to Danaher prior to distribution date		3,000.0
Senior notes \| 2.3% senior unsecured notes due 2016
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Debt instrument, face amount		$ 500.0
Interest rate of debt instrument		2.30%
Senior notes \| 5.625% senior unsecured notes due 2018
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Interest rate of debt instrument		5.625%
Senior notes \| 5.4% senior unsecured notes due 2019
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Interest rate of debt instrument		5.40%
Senior notes \| 3.9% senior unsecured notes due 2021
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Interest rate of debt instrument		3.90%
Discontinued operations, spin-off \| Fortive
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Extinguishment of debt, amount	$ 1,900.0
Discontinued operation, revenues prior Separation											$ 3,000.0
Separation-related costs														48.0
Dental \| Operating segments
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Sales												$ 2,844.5	$ 2,810.9	$ 2,785.4