Why does excel not accept what I type

[Guest]

I am trying to type in a postal code. The first part is in one cell and the
second part is in another cell. Example, when I type 0E0 it does accept it,
it replaces what I have typed with 0.00E+00. What can I do to not have
excel do this?

Thanks

 

[Bob Greenblatt]

I am trying to type in a postal code. The first part is in one cell and the
second part is in another cell. Example, when I type 0E0 it does accept it,
it replaces what I have typed with 0.00E+00. What can I do to not have
excel do this?

Thanks

In this case, Excel "thinks" you are typing a number in scientific notation.
To force the entry to text, type a leading apostrophe. This will not show,
but force Excel to treat the entry as text.

 

[Guest]

-----Original Message-----
I am trying to type in a postal code. The first part is in one cell and the
second part is in another cell. Example, when I type 0E0 it does accept it,
it replaces what I have typed with 0.00E+00. What can I do to not have
excel do this?

Thanks

.

Instead of typing 0E0, use a hyphen as the first
character, i.e. '0E0. The hyphen will not show in the
cell. You can also use "0E0".

/Fredrik

 

[JE McGimpsey]

Instead of typing 0E0, use a hyphen as the first
character, i.e. '0E0. The hyphen will not show in the
cell. You can also use "0E0".

Actually, the character is an apostrophe ('), as your example showed.
The hyphen (-) is a different character altogether.