Preventing formatting when pasting

  • Thread starter Thread starter Frank Marousek
  • Start date Start date
F

Frank Marousek

I am attempting to paste tabular data into Excel 2000. Most of the time it
works just fine. But occasionally I have data in a cell that looks like
this:

1-3

and Excel will insist on formatting it as a date (i.e. 3-Jan). I apprecitate
Excel thinking it is smarter than me and changing my data without my asking,
but in this case I really need to keep this data as a string "1-3". Once
Excel has changed it to a date, I don't see any way to retrieve the original
string data.

I have tried pre-formatting the cells in which the data is to be pasted as
"Text"-- doesn't help. I have also tried Edit > Paste Special as text, but
that doesn't work either.

Anyone here have any ideas?
 
Frank,

If the cells (the column, whatever) are formatted for text (Format, Cells -
Number) before the paste is performed, the data will paste as is. It does
no good after the fact, however, as the data has already been changed to a
date.

Regards from Virginia Beach,

EarlK
 
As I stated in my message, I -am- formatting the cells for text before
performing the paste-- it doesn't seem to work. I have also tried
pre-formatting the cells as number-- no difference.

I realize that trying to format after the paste is too late.

Could there possibly be some other setting that is affecting this? Or could
there be something else that I am missing?

Thanks,

Frank
 
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