It is quick and simple, but it is unfortunately not always available to you. The first technique we will look at to convert text to numbers is the ‘Convert to Number’ option provided in Excel. So, even though they all look like numbers, the ISNUMBER formula returns FALSE, making it easy to identify the problem values. I have converted some of the values to numbers. In this example, the following formula was entered into cell C2. You only need to provide the ISNUMBER function with the value to check. This function will return TRUE if the value is numeric and FALSE if it is not. To be completely sure, we can use an Excel function named ISNUMBER. However, it will work 95% of the time and is a fast and easy way of checking.

Once again, these calculations can be changed by users so it’s not a perfect check. And if any are text, only the count is performed. If the values are all numeric, you will probably see average, count and sum calculations. However, it is a great place to start and a good clue to look out for.Īnother way of checking is to select the range of values and look at the calculations down on the Status Bar.

This is just a clue and not guaranteed, because users can change the alignment of cell values. So, if a value is left-aligned, it is probably text. However, there are some things to look out for, and ways to accurately check it.įirstly, Excel will always display text to the left of a cell and numeric values to the right of a cell. This causes much confusion for Excel users. It can appear as a number, yet be stored as text. It is not always clear that a number is stored incorrectly. How to check if a value is numeric or text

Change text to numbers with Paste Special.

How to check if a value is numeric or text.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to recognize numbers stored as text and multiple ways to convert text to numbers. You will not be able to perform Excel tasks such as mathematical calculations, create charts from the values, or group them into ranges while the numbers are stored as text. A common frustration in Excel is when numbers are stored as text.

Convert excel to mac numbers