How to Convert Text in Excel
Ultimate Suite for Excel includes a feature that is handy if you need to convert text. You can convert numbers stored as text to number format, replace irrelevant characters and line breaks with the chars you need, and even change accented characters to their non-accented equivalents.
Before you start
We care about your data. The add-in will back up your worksheet if you select the corresponding option.
How to convert text
Click the Convert icon on the Ablebits Data tab, in the Text group:
You can see the Convert Text pane:
- Select the cells where you need to convert values.
- Click the Expand selection icon to select the whole table.
- Sometimes numerical data in worksheets is formatted as text. It often happens when digits are imported from a database. Choose this option to change text to number format.
- Your worksheet may contain some characters which you need to replace with other ones. Select Convert characters, enter all characters which you want to change, and then type in the character(s) that will replace them.
- Pick this option to convert line breaks to the characters you need. You can choose a standard replacement for the carriage returns in the dropdown list: a semicolon, a comma, a dot, or a space. Or, enter a different character(s) into the field.
- Choose this option if you want white spaces to be replaced with some other character.
- This option comes in handy if you need to replace accented chars with regular ones.
- We recommend always selecting the Back up this worksheet checkbox so you never lose your data.
Click the Convert button to get your result.
Responses
Anna says:
January 17, 2022 at 10:00 am
Hi,
I need to keep the following values in brackets but have only 2 decimal points... Thanks
"95.0"
"95.0"
"105.0"
"105.0"
"158.0"
"185.0"
"181.0"
"198.0"
"195.444444444444"
"195.444444444444"
Hi Anna,
Thank you for your comment.
For us to be able to help you better, please email us a small sample workbook with your source data and the expected result to support@ablebits.com. We'll look into your task and see if our software can help. Thank you.
Eduard says:
May 18, 2020 at 8:15 pm
How do I convert numbers into text?
Hello Eduard,
Thank you for your question. Our add-in can help you convert numbers stored as text to numbers. In other words, it'll change the numbers formatted as text to the number format. If this is not exactly what you mean, please specify. Thank you.
Sherrie Nelson says:
October 16, 2019 at 9:19 pm
In Convert, can Ablebits convert CR or LF or CRLF or all three? Everything I've read seems to imply it's just CR. I need it to do all!
Sorry if this has been asked a million times, but I don't have time to research. Thanks!
Hello Sherrie,
I'm sorry, I'm afraid we don't have any tool that could help you with the task.
But you can send us a sample of your source data and the result you'd like to get to support@ablebits.com. Please shorten your tables to 10-20 rows. We'll forward it to our developers to consider as a new feature.
Ryslan says:
July 20, 2019 at 11:54 am
Hello! Tell me the program only in English? Not in Russian?
Thank you for your question, Ryslan.
Our software is available in English only at the moment.
Faraz says:
June 21, 2019 at 11:47 am
Hello. I love your tools. I use them regularly in my daily work routine in Excel. I'm currently facing a problem here trying to use the Convert Text tool. I have an excel file (exported from a database) that has a column containing numeric data. Excel shows them as text (and allows each cell to be individually converted to number using its small popup menu). Im trying to use your option to convert number stored as text into a proper number format, but it doesn't work. The tools scans my entire column and then says that no cells have been process. Could you please assist. Thanks.
Hello Faraz,
Thank you for contacting us.
Please try to install the latest version of Ultimate Suite and check if the problem persists there: https://www.ablebits.com/files/get.php?addin=xl-suite
If it doesn't help, please send us a sample workbook with your data for further investigation to support@ablebits.com. We'll do our best to help you.
GENE FERRIS says:
April 9, 2019 at 9:43 pm
I am working with Wild Apricot generated website with membership db. My issue is that the db fields are generated by individuals in many formats, Telephone numbers are entered as: xxx.xxx.xxxx or xxx-xxx-xxxx, or (xxx) xxx-xxxx etc.
I would like to export the numbers as a .csv file into Excel 19 , Reformat the list to the first example, and import the updates into WA db. (Without retyping hundreds of items)
Do your addins do functions such as that??
Thanks
Gene
Hello Gene,
Thank you for contacting us.
For us to be able to help you better, please send us a small sample of your .csv file with your source data and the result you expect to get to support@ablebits.com. I kindly ask you to shorten each table to 10-20 rows.
We'll look into your task and see if our software can help.
Mike Griner says:
January 9, 2019 at 2:10 pm
I copied and pasted large amount of data into spread sheet...
Everything came over as text... I've tried everything to convert to numbers....
Any suggestions?
Hi, Mike,
Thank you for your comment and for contacting us at support@ablebits.com. We have received your file and will contact you by email shortly.
James says:
December 12, 2018 at 5:17 pm
Convert Numbers Stored as Text to Numbers. This function does not work. I am able to convert numbers stored as text to numbers using the Excel "pop-up box" (triangle with exclamation point then click on convert to numbers) but not able to convert with Ablebits function. After attempting to convert, there is a box with "no cells have been processed".
Hi, James,
Thank you for contacting us. I am sorry you are having difficulty with the Convert Text utility. And thank you for reporting the issue, of course, this is not the way Convert Text should behave!
For us to be able to investigate the problem, please send us your Excel book that contains the worksheet with your data that you tried to process with Convert Text. Please shorten your table to 10-20 rows. Also, please let us know the version of Excel you use and the Ultimate Suite (or Text Toolkit) version.
I have sent you an e-mail, please reply it with the above-mentioned information and we will do our best to fix the issue.
Thank you.
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