excel 2002 convert numbers to mathematical

[anon125]

i copied numbers from an online account.
pasted them into excel 2002.
how do i convert the numbers to numbers i can multiply etc?
i tried putting a 1 into a cell then copying and paste special multiply

tried converting the cell to numbers

thanks all

 

[Joe4]

Try doing a "Text to Columns" on the column, i.e. highlight the whole column, select "Text to Columns" from the Data menu, and click Finish.
Does that fix them?

 

[anon125]

tried =a1+0
the following does not make sense. i have no rules section

• To do this in Microsoft Excel 2002 or in Microsoft Office Excel 2003, follow these steps:
  • On the Tools menu, click Options.
  • In the Options dialog box, click the Error Checking tab.
  • In the Settings section, click to select the Enable background error checking check box.
  • In the Rules section, make sure the Number stored as text rule is selected, and then click OK.
  To do this in Microsoft Office Excel 2007, follow these steps:
  • Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Excel Options.
  • On the Formulas tab, click to select the Enable background error checking check box in the Error Checking section.
  • Under Error checking rules, make sure that the Numbers formatted as text or preceded by an apostrphe check box is selected, and then click OK.
• On the Error Checking Options button, click the down arrow.
  
  Notice that the Number Stored as Text menu appears.
• Click Convert to Number.

Notice that the cell is converted to the number format and the Error Indicator no longer appears in the cell.

 

[joeu2004]

It would help (us) if you uploaded an example Excel file to a file-sharing website and posted the download URL here.

My guess: the cells contain non-breaking spaces (HTML nbsp; ASCII 160). If so, try the following:

=--SUBSTITUTE(A1,CHAR(160),"")

The double negate converts text to a numeric value. Any idempotent arithmetic will do the same; for example, adding zero or multiplying by one.

Just in case the cells might contain other "invisible" characters (notably tab; ASCII 9), you might try the following:

=--CLEAN(SUBSTITUTE(A1,CHAR(160),""))

 

[Rick Rothstein]

Are your "numbers" left justified? If so, they are text values. In order for that to be the case, I suspect you have some trailing non-breaking space attached to the numbers. Give this a try...

1) Select the column with your "numbers" in it.

2) Go into the VBA editor (ALT+F11) and type this into the Immediate Window and then press the Enter Key...

Selection.Replace Chr(160), "", xlPart, , , , False, False

 

[anon125]

Thanks for trying Rick, but when i press Alt+F11 i just get a grey screen in the VBA editor. nowhere to type!
so i added a module and typed it there but to no avail.
what did i miss?
PS the numbers were links at first

 

[anon125]

Try doing a "Text to Columns" on the column, i.e. highlight the whole column, select "Text to Columns" from the Data menu, and click Finish.
Does that fix them?

no but thanks

 

[Joe4]

Can you post an example of any number on your sheet, what it looks like?
Then, for that exact value, let's say it is in cell A1.
What does this formula return?
=LEN(A1)

 

[MARK858]

Thanks for trying Rick....
what did i miss?
PS the numbers were links at first

and type this into the Immediate Window and then press the Enter Key...

Selection.Replace Chr(160), "", xlPart, , , , False, False

I think you missed the Immediate Window part, if you can't see it in the VBE click the View icon then click Immediate Window, it normally appears at the bottom of the window where you type your code. Please note that you might need to drag the top of it to expand it.
See the link below to see how it appears.

https://www.engram9.info/excel-2002-vba-xml-asp/using-the-immediate-window.html

Don't miss the previous post by Joe4

 

[anon125]

Can you post an example of any number on your sheet, what it looks like?
Then, for that exact value, let's say it is in cell A1.
What does this formula return?
=LEN(A1)

Thanks
the length is indeed correct.
the numbers look like any other number. position is of course affected by the alignment buttons

thanks