How Excel sets the number to text format

Excel saves numbers as numeric data, whether or not you have text formatting applied to cells that contain numbers. To have Excel interpret a number like part numbers as text, first set the blank cells to text format, and then type a number. If you have entered a number, you can also change it to a text form. The method is:

1. Select the number cell that contains the text format you want to set;

2. Click the format → cell command, and then click the Number tab;

3. In the Category list, click Text, and then click OK;

4. Click each cell, press the F2 key, and then press ENTER again to re-enter the data.