Convert numbers stored as text to numbers in excel 2008

[rchambers]

Version: 2008 Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) Processor: Intel Trying to sort a spreadsheet using a column that has numbers stored as text. When I sort, the number 1001 is ahead of the number 106. The numbers are all on the left of the cell. How do I convert?

Thanks
R

 

[lrivers]

Trying to sort a spreadsheet using a column that has numbers stored as text. When I sort, the number 1001 is ahead of the number 106. The numbers are all on the left of the cell. How do I convert?

>
> Thanks
> R

If the cells are not the result of a formula, copy the cells, press the escape key so the crawling ants go away and then do "paste special" in the first cell, then choose text as the format to paste. I get this problem often when I've imported data or something.

 

[John_McGhie_[MVP]]

Convert those text cells to numbers:

* Find a temporary cell and enter 1 as the value in that cell
* Copy the temporary cell
* Highlight your numbers cell range
* Use Edit > Paste Special > Multiply to multiply all of those 1000 cells by
1.

Excel will force them all to be numbers when it does that

Cheers

Version: 2008 Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) Processor: Intel
Trying to sort a spreadsheet using a column that has numbers stored as text.
When I sort, the number 1001 is ahead of the number 106. The numbers are all
on the left of the cell. How do I convert?

Thanks
R

--

The email below is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless I ask you to; or unless you intend to pay!

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410 | mailto:[email protected]

 

[alicia.m.ellis]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

Trying to sort a spreadsheet using a column that has numbers stored as text. When I sort, the number 1001 is ahead of the number 106. The numbers are all on the left of the cell. How do I convert?

Thanks

R

I had the same problem and none of the solutions here work. Save the file as a .csv file in Excel. Close the file. Then reopen in excel. This changed text to numbers for me. You can save again as a workbook.