16 + digit numbers don't display correctly

[Greg]

i am trying to enter account numbers for credit cards-traditionally 16
digit numbers. Excel drops the 16th digit and changes it to a 0. I have
tried cutom formatting the cell to 17 digit numbers (and every other
formatting trick I can think of) and it will then show 00 at the end. I
need help please.

 

[Greg]

i am trying to enter account numbers for credit cards-traditionally 16
digit numbers. Excel drops the 16th digit and changes it to a 0. I have
tried cutom formatting the cell to 17 digit numbers (and every other
formatting trick I can think of) and it will then show 00 at the end. I
need help please.

I solved my own problem by entering dashes between each set of 4
digits. Don't know why this works but it does what I need it to.

 

[Greg]

I managed to solve the problem by entering dashes between each set of 4
digits. Don't know why this works but it has solved my dilema for now.
Would still like to know how to enter 16 digits with some numeral other
than 0 at the end.

 

[JE McGimpsey]

i am trying to enter account numbers for credit cards-traditionally 16
digit numbers. Excel drops the 16th digit and changes it to a 0. I have
tried cutom formatting the cell to 17 digit numbers (and every other
formatting trick I can think of) and it will then show 00 at the end. I
need help please.

XL has a limit of 15 decimal digits of precision, so anything after the
15th digit will be truncated (or, if generated by a calculation,
rounded). You can see the same thing by entering

1.234567890123456


What will be stored is

1.23456789012345

Since it's a credit card number, and you won't be doing any math with
it, you can enter it as Text. Either preformat the cell as Text, or
prefix the entry with an apostrophe:

'1234567890123456

 

[Paul Berkowitz]

I managed to solve the problem by entering dashes between each set of 4
digits. Don't know why this works but it has solved my dilema for now.
Would still like to know how to enter 16 digits with some numeral other
than 0 at the end.

Due to the dashes - i.e. characters which are not numerals - Excel knew it
wasn't really a number and formatted it as text by itself. To do the same
without the dashes, do what JE says - either prefix an apostrophe (which
does not display in the cell unless you double-click it) or format the cell
or column as Text in Format/Cells...

--
Paul Berkowitz
MVP MacOffice
Entourage FAQ Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/faq/index.html>
AppleScripts for Entourage: <http://macscripter.net/scriptbuilders/>

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