Excel converts the number of text to a number format

Convert a number in a cell or a range of adjacent cells

1, click the Microsoft Office button, and then click Excel Options.

2, click the Formulas tab, and then do one of the following:

• Under Error checking, make sure that the Allow background error checking check box is selected.

• Under Error checking rules, make sure that the number in text format or the number preceded by an apostrophe check box is selected.

• Click OK.

3. On the worksheet, select any single cell or range of adjacent cells with an error indicator in the upper-left corner.

Note All the cells you select must be contiguous.

4. Next to the selected cell or range of cells, click the Error button that appears, and then click Convert to Number.

Convert multiple numbers in nonadjacent cells or ranges of cells

1, select a blank cell, and verify that its number format is "General".

How to verify the number format

On the Start tab, in the Number group, click the arrow next to the Number format box, and then click General.

2, in the cell, type 1, and then press Enter.

3, select the cell, and then on the Start tab, in the Clipboard group, click Copy.

Keyboard shortcuts can also be pressed CTRL + C.

4, select the Nonadjacent cell or range of cells that contains the numbers stored as text that you want to convert.

5, on the Start tab, in the Clipboard group, click the arrow under Paste, and then click Paste Selective.

6. Under Actions, select Multiply, and then click OK.

7. To delete the contents of the cell that you typed in step 2 after all numbers have been successfully converted, select the cell, and then press DELETE.

Note the minus sign (–) is on the right side of the value when certain financial programs display negative values. To convert this text string to a value, you must return all the text string characters except the rightmost character (that is, the minus sign), and then multiply the result by –1. For example, if the value in cell A2 is "156–", the following formula converts the text to the value "–156".

Data formulas