Donate SIGN UP

Excel - Unwanted Conversion To Date

Avatar Image
Jonathan-Joe | 18:28 Thu 16th Jul 2015 | Technology
6 Answers
I want the expression "9 - 3" to appear in a cell but Excel automatically converts it to "09-Mar". How can I disable this feature?
Gravatar

Answers

1 to 6 of 6rss feed

Avatar Image
Enter an apostrophe before the first number. There are probably other ways.
18:30 Thu 16th Jul 2015
Enter an apostrophe before the first number. There are probably other ways.
Question Author
Yes, that works but I'm now wondering why the apostrophe disappears!
Format the cell as ordinary number not Date
The apostrophe disappears because it's Excel's way of saying that the contents of that cell have effectively been converted to text, rather than numbers.
Question Author
Thanks for answers, I should have thought about cell format. The apostrophe trick may be handy. I hate it when Excel tries to second guess me.
If you use the format cell menu option you can make the cell contents whatever you wish. If you leave it undefined, as most do, then Excel makes its best guess.

1 to 6 of 6rss feed

Do you know the answer?

Excel - Unwanted Conversion To Date

Answer Question >>

Related Questions

Sorry, we can't find any related questions. Try using the search bar at the top of the page to search for some keywords, or choose a topic and submit your own question.