how to stop excel from changing numbers to dates

Understanding the Issue with Excel Changing Numbers to Dates

One of the common issues in Microsoft Excel is the software’s tendency to automatically format numbers that resemble dates into date format. For instance, entering “3-4” in a cell might be automatically converted to “Mar-4” or “4-Mar”, depending on your regional settings. This can be frustrating when you want to maintain the original number format, such as fractions, part numbers, or other numeric identifiers.

Step by Step Solutions to Prevent Excel from Changing Numbers to Dates

Method 1: Preformat the Cells as Text

By preformatting the cells as text, you tell Excel to treat the input as text, not as a number or date. Here’s how you do this:

1. Select the cells where you will enter the data that you want to keep in number format.
2. Right-click on the selected cells and choose ‘Format Cells’, or you can press ‘Ctrl + 1’ to open the Format Cells dialog box.
3. In the Format Cells dialog box, select ‘Text’ from the categories on the left-hand side.
4. Click ‘OK’ to apply the formatting.
5. Now when you type numbers into these cells, Excel will keep them in the exact format you’ve typed.

Method 2: Use an Apostrophe

If you don’t want to preformat the cells, there is a quick way to keep the numbers as you type them by using an apostrophe:

1. Click on the cell where you want to enter the number.
2. Type an apostrophe (‘) followed by the number (for example, ‘3-4).
3. Press ‘Enter’.
4. The apostrophe tells Excel to treat the entry as text, and it won’t be visible in the cell once you press enter, only in the formula bar.

Method 3: Importing Data Correctly

If you are importing data from another file, such as CSV, use the Text Import Wizard to specify that certain columns should be imported as text:

1. Open Excel and go to ‘File’, then ‘Open’, and select your CSV file.
2. The Text Import Wizard will open. In step 3 of the wizard, select the columns that contain your numbers.
3. Choose ‘Text’ as the column data format for the selected columns.
4. Click ‘Finish’ to import the data with the correct formatting.

Method 4: Change Excel’s AutoCorrect Options

Excel has AutoCorrect features that can be adjusted to stop certain automatic formatting:

1. Go to ‘File’ and then ‘Options’.
2. Select ‘Proofing’ and then ‘AutoCorrect Options…’.
3. In the AutoCorrect dialogue box, you can uncheck options like ‘AutoFormat As You Type’ which can prevent certain automatic changes.
4. Click ‘OK’ to apply the changes.

Additional Tips

If the above methods do not fully resolve your issue, consider the following:

• Check if there are any add-ins or macros running that might be changing the formatting.
• Remember that changing the formatting might affect the calculations or data analysis if those cells are used in formulas.
• Always back up your data before making bulk changes to the formatting.

By following the steps described above, you should be able to enter numbers into Excel cells without having them automatically converted into dates.