If you’ve ever opened an Excel spreadsheet only to find that your carefully entered data has been changed, you know how frustrating it can be. Fortunately, there are a few steps you can take to stop Excel from changing numbers. By understanding the causes of this problem and taking some preventative measures, you can keep your data safe and sound.
Table of Contents
How to Stop Excel From Changing Numbers?
The Problem
Excel is a powerful tool for data analysis, but it has a few quirks that can trip up even the most experienced users. One of the most frustrating is its tendency to change numbers automatically, usually when you don’t want it to.
There are a few different ways that this can happen. The first is when you try to enter a number that has a different number of decimal places than what is already in the cell. For example, if the cell contains “1.00” and you try to enter “1.000”, Excel will automatically change the number to “1.00”.
The second way this can happen is when you try to enter a number that is in a different format than what is already in the cell. For example, if the cell contains “1,000” and you try to enter “1000”, Excel will automatically change the number to “1,000”.
The third way this can happen is when you try to enter a number that is in a different currency than what is already in the cell. For example, if the cell contains “$1,000” and you try to enter “1000”, Excel will automatically change the number to “$1,000”.
Fortunately, there are a few ways to stop Excel from automatically changing numbers. The first is to make sure that the cell is formatted as “General” before you enter the number. You can do this by selecting the cell and then going to the “Number” tab in the “Number Format” section of the “Home” tab.
The second way to stop Excel from automatically changing numbers is to use the “Text” function. This function will tell Excel to treat the number as text, which will prevent it from changing the number. For example, if you enter “=Text(1000)” into a cell, Excel will not change the number.
The third way to stop Excel from automatically changing numbers is to use a formula that specifically tells Excel not to change the number. For example, if you enter “=Round(1000,2)” into a cell, Excel will not change the number.
Hopefully, one of these methods will work for you and you can stop Excel from automatically changing numbers.
The Solution
The easiest way to stop Excel from changing numbers is to use the “Text to Columns” function. This will keep your numbers as text, and they will not be changed when you perform calculations.
1. Select the cells that contain the numbers you want to keep as text.
2. On the Data tab, click the Text to Columns button.
3. In the Convert Text to Columns Wizard, select the Delimited option and click Next.
4. Uncheck the Tab and Comma options, and check the Other option. In the box next to Other, type a space.
5. Click Finish.
Implementation
When you enter a number into a cell in Microsoft Excel, the program may automatically change the number to a different format. For example, if you enter “1000000,” Excel may change the number to “1,000,000.” This can be frustrating if you are trying to enter specific numerical data into a spreadsheet. Luckily, there is a way to stop Excel from automatically changing numbers.
To do this, open the Microsoft Excel program on your computer. Then, click on the “File” tab in the top-left corner of the screen. Next, click on “Options” in the drop-down menu. This will open the “Excel Options” window. In this window, click on the “Advanced” tab. Scroll down to the “Editing options” section and uncheck the box next to “Enable automatic percent entry.” Finally, click on the “OK” button to save your changes.
Now, when you enter numbers into cells in Excel, the program will no longer automatically change them to a different format. This can be helpful when you are trying to enter precise numerical data into a spreadsheet.
Conclusion
If you want to prevent Excel from changing numbers into dates or vice versa, you have a few options. You can format your cells as text, which will prevent any changes from happening. You can also use the =TEXT() function to explicitly tell Excel to treat a number as text. Finally, you can change your regional settings to match the way numbers are formatted in your spreadsheet.
