cell format in Excel 2002 SP3 will not accept long numbers

[Guest]

I try to input a number 17 digits long. The whole number fits in the cell
just fine, but it cuts off the last 2 digits of the number and changes the
digits to "00." It doesn't matter what font size I use, how wide I make the
cell, or what format number type I use. I tried using custom, general,
number, etc.. all do the same thing, changes the last 2 digits to "00."

How do I fix it? Why will the cell accept unlimited number length, but only
accept numbers up to 15 digits? Why is everything past the 15th digit
automatically changed to "0"?

 

[JE McGimpsey]

XL's precision is limited to 15 digits. If you need to do math on more
digits than that, you'll need a different application.

If you simply want to display the 17 digit numbers, preformat the
cell(s) as Text, or prefix the entries with an apostrophe (').