How to convert numbers to text in excel online

August 18, 2022
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I'll go over four alternative methods in this section for converting numbers to text in Excel.

These techniques are not all the same, and depending on your circumstances, some may be better suited than others.

So let's get started with how to convert numbers to text in excel!

Adding an Apostrophe:

Here is a quick tip if you're manually entering data in Excel and don't want your numbers to automatically change format:

1.Before the number, affix an apostrophe (').Therefore, to enter 001, type 001. (where there is an apostrophe before the number).

2.Rest assured that the apostrophe is hidden in the cell. All you'll see is the number.

3.An apostrophe before a number converts it to text and adds a little green triangle to the cell's upper left corner (as shown in the image). It's Excel's way of alerting you that a number has been converted to text and is present in the cell.

4.Apostrophes instruct Excel to treat the text that comes after a number as text.

5.Check whether the numbers align to the left out to the right to quickly determine whether the cells are formatted as text or not. Numbers by default align to the right when formatted as text (as they alight to the left)

6.Similar to how entering 01-01 would prevent it from becoming a date, adding an apostrophe would ensure this.Although this method always works, it is only practical if you are manually entering a small number of numbers into Excel. 

Use the next technique if you need to enter a lot of data into a limited number of rows or columns.

Converting cell format to text in excel:

1.Altering the cell's format is another approach to guarantee that Excel treats any numerical entry as a text value.Choose the rows and/or columns in which you want to enter the data.Click on the Home tab.

2.Click on the format drop down in the Number group.

3.Choose Text from the list of available possibilities.

4.The aforementioned procedures would switch the cells' default formatting from General to Text.It will now be immediately recognised as a text string if you enter any number or word in these cells.

This implies that Excel won't modify the text you enter automatically (such as truncating the leading zeros or converting entered numbers into dates)

Although I entered the data first and then altered the cell formatting in this example, you can also do this with cells that already contain data.

Note: This above written article is an attempt to show you how to convert numbers to text in excel online, 2016 and 2019, in both windows and mac.You just need to have a little understanding of how and which way things work and you are good to go. With having this basic knowledge or information of how to use it, you can also access and use different other options on excel or spreadsheet. Also, it is very similar to Word or Document. So, in a way, if you learn one thing, like Excel, you can automatically learn how to use Word as well because both of them are very similar in so many ways. If you want to know more about WPS Office, you can download WPS Office to access, Word, Excel, PowerPoint for free.