JayB Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I enter: 1-84 Excel reformats this as: 30682. Select the cell, hit Format-->Cell-->Number and none of the options seems to leave the data in the cell alone, which is what I need it to do. What's the secret code for "leave the info in the cell *(&^ing alone" in Excel? Thanks in advance for the help. Word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaskadskyjKozak Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 that's not a bug, Jay. It's a feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pup_on_the_mountain Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Yeah.. you cannot be smarter than Excel, can you?? The roundabout fix is to put a space before entering 1-84. So, enter " 1-84" (without the quotes) in the cell, and it'll leave it as it is. If you do not like the space in front, replace it with a single quote, which will not show up - so, type '1-84 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 what he said above Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reid Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 or place an apostrophe before your entry "'1-84" will display as "1-84" Excel will let you know about the error you've made in formatting your date, but you can ignore it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvashtarkatena Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Under format cell, choose CUSTOM Under the pulldown, choose "dd-mmm-yy", then edit it in the box to "m-yy" That will give you the date format you are looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reid Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Yep just like pup said in the half of the post I didn't read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvashtarkatena Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 starting your data entry with an apostrophe will do the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayB Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 Aha - many thanks for all of the helpful suggestions. Spreadsheet is dead and it's off to bed. Word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archenemy Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Hey! I am going to an advanced Excel training thingy tomorrow. Jealous? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Conway Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Hey! I am going to an advanced Excel training thingy tomorrow. Jealous? You need to go back to the demon priest avatar for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyclimber Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 this should be in our new MS Excel Forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Frieh Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Highlight cell(s) you want to display exactly what you type. Format -> Cells -> Text Presto. No need for spaces or other trickery and wont screw you if you end up merging cell content. Skip that Excel class and spend that same time learning JMP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaskadskyjKozak Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Hey! I am going to an advanced Excel training thingy tomorrow. Jealous? My advice to you is to start drinking heavily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Just ask Clippy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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