Convert Text to Numbers or Numbers to Text

http://myexcelcharts.blogspot.com

How to convert or change text to numbers using several methods. Also how to convert or change numbers to text using some different methods.

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Closed Caption:

I'm the session i'm gonna show you how
to convert text numbers and also show
examples of how to convert numbers back
to text
so when you have numbers presented here
in the spreadsheet the way that's held
between a number that is stored as a
text and the stored as a number is how
it's aligned
usually when numbers are stored it looks
like what looks like numbers that are
stored as text will align to the left
and if the number is stored as a real
number on this example it's aligned to
the right another way if you want to
really check it it is to use a function
to check
so this is number function so if i click
the function wizard
you can see that it describes what this
particular function does this is number
so it sees that the value is a number
it's going to return a true that's not a
number of terms of false somewhat too if
we want to look and see if the number is
a text
there is a function called is text and
if you want to see if that particular
numbers text alternate between a true it
is a false if it's not so let's go into
the first examples of how to convert
text numbers so i have my validations
here to check if it's a number and right
now there is these numbers that are our
rep stored as txt now the first way to
do it is with the smart tag so you may
get the a list of numbers in column
numbers or world numbers and you have
this little green triangle at the left
and when you click on that cell you'll
see that this smart tag shows up and
there is actually a shortcut menu that
pops up when you click on it and you can
store this convert this number
convert this to a number
see right now it says you have the
numbers towards text so you can virtual
number once i do that the validation
returns true
so that's one method is using the smart
tag another method of course is editing
within the south so you just here in the
cell and just type 38 here in this
example and it's going to return back
into a number
another example is to copy and paste and
add a zero so basically what you do is
you just select a nice any empty cell
and ctrl-c to copy and then you go to
your cell and then you go to paste
special and then the paste special
window comes up for the dialog box comes
up and you can just say at so you can
add a zero to it so basically writing 02
it and it's going to turn into a number
another similar way to do it is to go
into an empty cell type the number 1 i'm
going to control enter to stay within
that cell and also now i'm going to copy
that's self to control C and then go
into the cell want to change and go into
paste special and i'm going to multiply
x 1 so basically it's x 1 and converting
it to a number she now
now the validation sees that it's going
to do it the other way to do it is also
is with a text to columns feature in
excel so i select this and go up to the
data tab and go to text to columns
I select that and go through a text to
columns wizard basically I can keep
these parameters here demented I just
click Next and just click Next
because i'm only in one column it's only
gonna
convert it with in that column and if I
keep this particular selection general
what it's going to do is come to convert
it to the numeric values to a number so
you're going to see once i click finish
it's going to convert it to number see
how now there are right aligned
that's true another way to do it is with
the value function so there is a
function so i'm going to go ahead and
delete this because i'm just i'm gonna
use the value function for a cell a7
so what the value function i'm just
gonna type equal value tab to complete
it and then select that sell closed
parenthesis press ENTER and the value
function you can see here in the
function wizard
what value does it convert a text string
to represent a number to a number
so basically turned it into a number and
so you know you see all these
validations are true
so that's text numbers let's go into the
numbers to text so there's kind of a few
options to convert numbers to text now
first one of the one of the options you
can do is add an empty space so to add
an empty space what we're basically
doing i'm going to use this as an edible
column so this is the same number
so I'm going to do is type an equal sign
and do a double quotes double quotes and
then the ampersand and then select that
cell
so basically what it's doing is adding
an empty space now so this validation to
check if it's a text becomes true
that's because that's true the other way
to do it is with the text to columns
feature so much what we did for the text
and numbers
there's also an option you can convert
the numbers to text here
so I'm going to go back into the data
tab go to text to columns and this I'd
keep the same just click Next to go to
the second step and actually at the
third step
that's where we're going to change it so
we're going to select the text radio but
instead
and that's going to change that number
to text once i click finish
you'll see that it has left aligned it
and the validation is true
now another way to turn a number in the
text is just to add a single coat so if
i add a single quote to this and press
enter
it turns that into a text few
now I just want to highlight one
additional way to do it and that's all
that's already selecting your cell and
going back to the Home tab and going
into general going into the M the number
of group go to general and then select
text and once i type in a number here
you'll see that its stores this text
now you can't really do this or to
someone something that's already stored
in a number so if i type 3 3 here and I
go get back into here and select text
you can see that it looks like it is
text but it's not if I looked through
the validation
if i go and do text
oops
you know is text equals is text
I try to see that is text is going to
bring back false
so really it left aligned it but it
really is not stored as text in excel so
if you wanted to use this this way to do
it you have to format that self first as
text and then enter your numbers so
there's the various ways we can convert
text and numbers and numbers to text in
excel so I hope that helps
thanks for watching