To select the values quickly, select the first cell (B2) and press Ctrl + Shift+ Down Arrow. The only real disadvantage is that selecting a long list of values might be a bit awkward, so I’ll show you a shortcut to make that easier. You can do so by selecting a small range and choose Text from the Number Format dropdown in the Number group.įigure A These numbers are stored as text.įor my money, I like the SmartTag method the most because it converts the text values in place. I set the Text format myself to simulate the problem. If you check the Format setting in the Numbers group (on the Home tab), you can see that these values are text and not stored as real numbers. You can tell right away that they’re text because the numbers are left aligned, and they have leading zeros. Use SmartTagįigure A shows a short list of text values. The first method doesn’t work in Excel Online, but the other three do. For your convenience, you can download the demonstration. I recommend that you hold off on upgrading to Windows 11 until all the kinks are worked out. I’m using Microsoft 365 on a Windows 10 64-bit system. All four methods have their own pros and cons, so knowing them all will come in handy. In this Microsoft Excel tutorial, I’ll show you four easy ways to convert numbers stored as text to real numbers. SEE: 83 Excel tips every user should master (TechRepublic) When this happens, we must convert that text into numbers before we can use the data. On the other hand, we often receive data from a foreign source that should be stored as a number, but it stored as text at the source. For instance, a street address that begins with numbers-555 Town Street-is stored as text. Numbers stored as text in Microsoft Excel aren’t necessarily wrong. Support for these Microsoft enterprise products ends in 2023 Image: PixieMe/Shutterstock More about SoftwareĦ Best Free Alternatives to Microsoft Word (2023 Update)Ħ best free alternatives to Microsoft Excel in 2023 For more info, visit our Terms of Use page. This may influence how and where their products appear on our site, but vendors cannot pay to influence the content of our reviews. We may be compensated by vendors who appear on this page through methods such as affiliate links or sponsored partnerships. If you receive text values that should be real numbers, use one of these methods to get you back to the real work. Microsoft Excel depends on data that’s stored correctly. You can always ask an expert in the Excel Tech Community or get support in Communities.4 quick and easy ways to convert numbers stored as text to real numbers in Excel To delete the serial numbers after all of the dates are converted successfully, select the cells that contain them, and then press DELETE. In the Category box, click Date, and then click the date format that you want in the Type list. On the Home tab, click the popup window launcher next to Number. In the Paste Special dialog box, under Paste, select Values, and then click OK. Select the cell or range of cells that contains the text dates, and then on the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click the arrow below Paste, and then click Paste Special. Keyboard shortcut: You can also press CTRL+C. Select the cell or range of cells that contains the serial numbers, and then on the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click Copy. By default, January 1, 1900, is serial number 1, and January 1, 2008, is serial number 39448 because it is 39,448 days after January 1, 1900.To copy the conversion formula into a range of contiguous cells, select the cell containing the formula that you entered, and then drag the fill handle across a range of empty cells that matches in size the range of cells that contain text dates.Īfter you drag the fill handle, you should have a range of cells with serial numbers that corresponds to the range of cells that contain text dates. Press ENTER, and the DATEVALUE function returns the serial number of the date that is represented by the text date.Įxcel stores dates as sequential serial numbers so that they can be used in calculations. Select a blank cell and verify that its number format is General.Ĭlick the cell that contains the text-formatted date that you want to convert. Then copy the formula, select the cells that contain the text dates, and use Paste Special to apply a date format to them. To convert a text date in a cell to a serial number, use the DATEVALUE function.
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