excel - numbers as text

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how do I keep 16 digit numbers as text in excel?
I format the cells as text ahead of time but when I cut and paste the
numbers in the last digit is converted to a zero and it is displayed in
scientific notation.
 
Paste Specials Values

: how do I keep 16 digit numbers as text in excel?
: I format the cells as text ahead of time but when I cut and paste the
: numbers in the last digit is converted to a zero and it is displayed in
: scientific notation.
 
I did format the cell as text before I did the cut and paste.
That is what is so frustrating.
I think that the clipboard is giving it a type of numberic and then when xl
gets it it must convert that cell to numberic no matter what you've have told
it to do.

I'll will try to do a paste->special->values but that will slow us down. We
do hundreds of these everyday and this bug in xl is costing us.

Do you know of a keyboard shortcut for paste->special->values ?
 
Do you know of a keyboard shortcut for paste->special->values ?

I have to perform this operation hundreds of times each day and this problem
is really costing us.
 
Hi, thuferhawat;

I was fiddling around with this. Text format showed the scientific notation,
as did General. Number format did not, and there was no need for Paste
Special. Is there any reason this has to be in Text format? I am also curious
about the need to do "hundreds" of cut & paste operations every day. Couldn't
you write formulas to transfer the data instead, and let Excel do the work
for you?

EDIT: I just tried formatting as text before entering the number, and it did
not convert to scientific notation, nor did it convert when I cut it, and
pasted it elsewhere, still no need for Paste Special. (It did let me know I
was formatting a number as text, and that this might be a mistake.) I am
using Excel 2003, so perhaps this is improved from your version.

PS: Paste Special is not available after cut, only after copy. The keyboard
shortcut, or more properly, accelerator, for Paste Special is Alt+es.

Best Regards,
IanRoy.
 
I did format the cell as text before I pasted.

After formating the cell as TEXT I pasted.

Prior to pasting the 16 digit number into the cell I formated the cell as
text.

I followed these procedures:
1. Format the cell as text.
2. paste the 16 digit number into the cell
Result = 16th digit converted to zero, displayed as scientific notation.
 
Hi, Thuferhawat;
Yes, that is what I would expect. Formatting the target cell beforehand
would have no effect, since Paste will overwrite it. Formatting the source
cell should give you better results.
Here are the results of my experiments:
1) Enter 16 digit number, copy, paste: scientific.
2) Format source as text, then enter number, copy, paste: 16 digits and a
warning.
3) Enter number, format source as text, copy, paste: scientific.
(In all cases formatting the target cell beforehand should have no effect,
because the default paste is paste all, so the source format is pasted as
well, and that is what I found.)
4) Format source as number, either before or after entering the number,
copy, paste: 16 digits, no error warning. This would seem to be your best
option, unless you need the 16 digit number formatted as text for another
reason, in which case, go with example "2)."
Regards,
IanRoy.
 
Thanks for your help!

These 16 digit numbers are Customer Account numbers and will never be used
as numbers. They may as well be alpha characters.

Is there a way in xl to change the default paste functionality.

Is there a key board shortcut for Paste->special->text?

We do this cutting and pasting hundreds of times each day and this bug in xl
is very costly.

I wonder if the programable button on a 3 button mouse could be programed to
do such a thing as paste->special->text
 
Hi, Thuferhawat;
That they will never be used as numbers shouldn't, in and of itself, stop
you from formatting them as numbers, if that will speed up your work. I don't
know of a way to change Excel's default paste (paste all). I has occurred to
me (belatedly) that you are copying from outside Excel. You can use the
keyboard to paste unformatted text from outside Excel as follows: alt
(selects Menubar), e (opens Edit), s (opens Paste Special), down arrow (paste
text without formatting), enter: so alt, e, s, down arrow, enter.
Alternately, you can put a Paste Values button on the Menubar. The following
works in Excel 2003, I hope in your version as well:
View> Toolbars> Customize> Commands> Edit
Find the Paste Values button and drag it to the left of the File menu on the
Menubar. Drop it there. Close the Customize dialog. Now pressing alt will
select that button, and pressing enter will paste the contents (without
formatting) of the clipboard into the selected cell. Whatever formatting is
already in the cell will control the display of the data. As I noted before,
if “text†does not give you the results you want, use the “number†format.
Regards,
IanRoy.
 
Howdy IanRoy,

The problem with treating the account number as a number is that xl has a
bug that limits it's precision to 15 significant digits. So a 16 digit
number looses its value in the 16th digit. They are changed to a zero. In
an account number that is very significant. Maybe MS should come up with a
new data type "Account Number". I can't believe that I'm the only one with
this problem.

In the mean time. I'll try and make a paste->special->text button.

Thanks again.
 
Indeed - I would format the column as Text because it's an identifier, not a
number for calculations.
 
Hi, Thuferhawat;

You are right. I could have sworn I counted to 16 digits. I must have
stopped at 15 the other day. And when I tried to use that button I found to
paste the value of a number with a hyphen in it that I found on a web page It
did not do anything (i.e. it works with some sources, and not others). Paste
Special gave me a few more choices than the "unicode text" and "text" that I
experienced before, so the the simple key sequence: "alt - e - s - down
arrow(once) - enter" is not enough for all cases. If your source is
consistent, and the "Paste Values" button doesn't work, I guess that leaves:
1) Record a macro for the the key sequence that does. (I have never done
this.)
2) Experiment with custom formatting.
3) Paste these account numbers into Notepad, and copy from there. (Only
efficient if you can do a multiple numbers at a time.)

I will continue to experiment as I have time, and will post back in this
thread if I find something better. If you find an answer before I do, I would
be curious.

Regards,
IanRoy.
 
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