stop excel from auto editing my numbers

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
If you want the leading zero to display, you have a decision to make.

If you want the values to be NUMBERS, set the number format to display the
leading zero:
<format><cells><number tab>
Category: custom
Type: 00
Click [OK]
Note: The if you type 02, the value will be 2, but will display as 02.

If you want the values to be text, set the number format to Text
<format><cells><number tab>
Category: Text
Click [OK]
Note: Anything you type in the cells will be text....even formulas

Does that help?
--------------------------

Regards,

Ron
Microsoft MVP (Excel)

(XL2003, Win XP)
:
 
If you are going to use them as numbers - do some arithmetic with them,
format the cell with Custom Format: 00

If they are really text, type a single quote before you type the number:
'02. The quote will not display (except in Formula Bar) nor will it print.
best wishes
 
If you want two digits and want to see a leading zero then:

Format > Cells... > Custom > 00


If you want an aribtrary set of digits, then begin the string with a single
quote (apostrophe)
 
Hello everybody,
I understand how to manually change the cells to text or to enter and
apostrophe in front of the number, but I would like to know if there is a way
to "turn off" the parsing of the leading zero. It seems to me that if I can
change the autoformatting to ignore certain entries in a cell (ie consecutive
capital letters) then Excel should be smart enough to know not to remove the
zeros. I shouldn't have to go into every spreadsheet and change the
formatting of particular cells. This is a sloppy way to "fix" the problem. Is
there a way to change this setting to default (I can't for the life of me
understand why there wouldn't be)? If not, why not? MS is always adding bell
& whistles that no one will ever use, why not a useful option?
 
Back
Top