FormattingSSN

[gh]

I have a spreadsheet that has social security numbers in one of the columns:

'123345678 this is how they are displayed in the formula bar when I
select a cell. If I try to format them as 123-45-6789 the formatting
doesn' t work. The number is still displayed as '123345678. What am I
doing wrong?

Thanks

 

[Ron Rosenfeld]

I have a spreadsheet that has social security numbers in one of the columns:

'123345678 this is how they are displayed in the formula bar when I
select a cell. If I try to format them as 123-45-6789 the formatting
doesn' t work. The number is still displayed as '123345678. What am I
doing wrong?

Thanks

The leading single quote forces the value into TEXT format.

To convert it to a number

1. Make a backup
2. Select a Blank Cell
3. Edit/Copy
4. Select the range of SSN's
5. Paste Special/Add

Then you should be able to format it.
--ron

 

[DJH]

There is a Special Format for SSN, but must be enter as a number. No '
before.

The Format is
000-00-0000