How to convert numbers to text using Excel TEXT function and other options

This tutorial shows how to convert number to text in Excel 2016, 2013 and 2010. See how to accomplish the task with the Excel TEXT function and use number to string to specify the formatting. Learn how to change number format to text with the Format Cells… and Text to Columns options.

If you use Excel spreadsheets to store long and not so long numbers, one day you may need to convert them to text. There may be different reasons to change digits stored as numbers to text. Below you'll find why you may need to make Excel see the entered digits as text, not as number.

  • Search by part not by the entire number. For example, you may need to find all numbers that contain 50, like in 501, 1500, 1950, etc.)
  • It may be necessary to match two cells using the VLOOKUP or MATCH function. However, if these cells are formatted differently, Excel will not see identical values as matching. For instance, A1 is formatted as text and B1 is number with format 0. The leading zero in B2 is a custom format. When matching these 2 cells Excel will ignore the leading 0 and will not show the two cells as identical. That's why their format should be unified.
    Matching 2 identical cells with different formats Excel ignores

The same issue can occur if the cells are formatted as ZIP code, SSN, telephone number, currency, etc.

Note. If you want to convert numbers to words like amount to text, it's a different task. Please check the article about spelling numbers named Two best ways to convert numbers to words in Excel.

In this article I'll show you how to convert numbers to text with the help of the Excel TEXT function. If you are not so formula-oriented, have a look at the part where I explain how to change digits to text format with the help of the standard Excel Format Cells window, by adding an apostrophe and employing the Text to Columns wizard.

convert-number-to-text-excel-TEXT-function

Convert number to text using the Excel TEXT function

The most powerful and flexible way to convert numbers to text is using the TEXT function. It turns a numeric value into text and allows to specify the way this value will be displayed. It's helpful when you need to show numbers in a more readable format, or if you want to join digits with text or symbols. The TEXT function converts a numeric value to formatted text, thus the result cannot be calculated.

If you are familiar with using formulas in Excel, it will not be a problem for you to employ the TEXT function.

  1. Add a helper column next to the column with the numbers to format. In my example, it's column D.
  2. Enter the formula =TEXT(C2,"0") to the cell D2. In the formula, C2 is the address of the first cell with the numbers to convert.
  3. Copy the formula across the column using the fill handle.
    Copy the formula across the column using the fill handle
  4. You will see the alignment change to left in the helper column after applying the formula.
    See the alignment change to left in the helper column
  5. Now you need to convert formulas to values in the helper column. Start with selecting the column.
  6. Use Ctrl + C to copy. Then press the Ctrl + Alt + V shortcut to display the Paste Special dialog box.
  7. On the Paste Special dialog, select the Values radio button in the Paste group.
    Select the Values radio button on the Paste Special dialog box

    You will see a tiny triangle appear in the top-left corner of each cell in your helper column, which means the entries are now text versions of the numbers in your main column.
    You will see a tiny triangle added at the top of each cell in your helper column

    Now you can either rename the helper column and delete the original one, or copy the results to your main and remove the temporary column.

    Note. The second parameter in the Excel TEXT function shows how the number will be formatted before being converted. You may need to adjust this based on your numbers:

    The result of =TEXT(123.25,"0") will be 123.

    The result of =TEXT(123.25,"0.0") will be 123.3.

    The result of =TEXT(123.25,"0.00") will be 123.25.

    To keep the decimals only, use =TEXT(A2,"General").

    Tip. Say you need to format a cash amount, but the format isn't available. For instance, you cannot display a number as British Pounds (£) as you use the built-in formatting in the English U.S. version of Excel. The TEXT function will help you convert this number to Pounds if you enter it like this: =TEXT(A12,"£#,###,###.##"). Just type the format to use in quotes -> insert the £ symbol by holding down Alt and pressing 0163 on the numeric keypad -> type #,###.## after the £ symbol to get commas to separate groups, and to use a period for the decimal point. The result is text!

Use the Format Cells option to convert number to text in Excel

If you need to quickly change the number to string, do it with the Format Cells… option.

  1. Select the range with the numeric values you want to format as text.
  2. Right click on them and pick the Format Cells… option from the menu list.
    Pick the Format Cells… option from the menu list

    Tip. You can display the Format Cells… window by pressing the Ctrl + 1 shortcut.

  3. On the Format Cells window select Text under the Number tab and click OK.
    Select the Text option and click OK

You'll see the alignment change to left, so the format will change to text. This option is good if you don't need to adjust the way your numbers will be formatted.

Add an apostrophe to change number to text format

If these are just 2 or 3 cells in Excel where you want to convert numbers to string, benefit from adding an apostrophe before the number. This will instantly change the number format to text.

Just double-click in a cell and enter the apostrophe before the numeric value.
Add an apostrophe to convert number to test

You will see a small triangle added in the corner of this cell. This is not the best way to convert numbers to text in bulk, but it's the fastest one if you need to change just 2 or 3 cells.

Convert numbers to text in Excel with Text to Columns wizard

You may be surprised but the Excel Text to Columns option is quite good at converting numbers to text. Just follow the steps below to see how it works.

  1. Select the column where you want to convert numbers to string in Excel.
  2. Navigate to the Data tab in and click on the Text to Columns icon.
    Navigate to the Data tab in Excel and click on the Text to Columns icon
  3. Just click through steps 1 and 2. On the third step of the wizard, make sure you select the Text radio button.
    Navigate to the Data tab in Excel and click on the Text to Columns icon
  4. Press Finish to see your numbers immediately turn into text.

I hope the tips and tricks from this article will help you in your work with numeric values in Excel. Convert number to string using the Excel TEXT function to adjust the way your numbers will be displayed, or use Format Cells and Text to Columns for quick conversions in bulk. If these are just several cells, add an apostrophe. Feel free to leave your comments if you have anything to add or ask. Be happy and excel in Excel!

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169 comments

  1. Thank you so much.... great shortcut to convert Numbers to text...

  2. Hi,
    I want to convert number to word, when I enter a value it doesn't work and the following line of the VB program gets highlighted:
    Cents = GetTens(Left(Mid(MyNumber, DecimalPlace + 1) & _ "00", 2))
    Please tell me what can I do to make it work?
    Thank you.

  3. Thank you, this was very useful
    Save me a lot of time

  4. Awesome very helpful

  5. hi can you please help ma that how can i change 11/1/1950 into 11-50

    • For e.g.: in cell A1 - 11/1/1950
      =TEXT(A1,"dd-yy")
      Ans: 11-50

  6. Hi,

    want to add 20 numbers in A2(20numbers) & A3(20numbers) column and show the
    result in A4

    the result is accepting upto 15 numbers and remaining 5 numbers are displaying as 00000.

    Thanks in Advance

  7. Hi, need vba code for converting number to words ,have used spellnumber but I want the text only for number not for currency i.e 225 ( two hundred twenty five)please share with me

  8. The last way: "Convert numbers to text in Excel with Text to Columns wizard" -- is the best!!!
    Additionally, it can work in reverse and in other ways!!! Superb!!!
    Congrats!!! & Thx a lot!!! Artur

    • Best solution for this problem!!! AWESOME. Thank you!

  9. How would you make a spreadsheet read a letter to a number as in if I type in just the letter x in a cell it would automatically change it to -40?

    • Tibor:
      You would use an IF THEN statement which would look like this:
      =IF(A2="X",-40,"Something Else")
      Which means If the value in A2 is x, then display -40 otherwise display something else.
      The details on how these statements work and examples can be found here on AbleBits.

      • Thank you Doug,

        I see what you are saying but how can I convert any cell in column A to equal -40 when typing in x? What you described does change it but only for that one cell where the formula is entered

        • Tibor:
          You can copy the formula down the column. The A2 address will change automatically as you copy it down the column.
          Highlight the cell then click and grab the little black box in the lower right-hand corner of the cell and drag it down the column.

  10. You have save me from going bonkers! So many people do not export the numbers as text but I do and to convert to a number is such a challenge in a large file.

    The text to column wizard is perfect!

    Thank you thank you thank you

  11. I'm trying to link a cell that has a name in it to another sheet. The cell is actually words, not numbers, but I get either the formula or the number zero as if the cell is reading a formula instead of the words.

    I've tried your solutions to convert numbers to text and it did not give me the name, only 0 or the formula.

    Can you help?

    • first select the cell where you want to get the copied name type = and traverse to the sheet where the name is already present, click on that cell and press ENTER. drag the cell to get other names

  12. Glad I happened upon this Text to Columns solution to this issue! As a Microsoft Partner, please convey to Microsoft that the Text to Columns method is how the standard Format as Text should work!

    For years I've been struggling with the best way to deal with the broken built-in method. I started teaching Excel usage over 25 years ago and have had a career of programming and I can't remember when this issue cropped up. It plagues all areas of data manipulation and transfer into and our of databases where Excel is used as an intermediary--suddenly Identification numbers are corrupted as Scientific Notation versions of the underlying string of numbers. I don't know why anyone, anywhere, would ever want numbers stored in a column along with text used solely as identifiers and not values, to suddenly switch to Scientific Notation when changing to text...if anything, the numeric display should be Scientific Notation if proper and reformatting a column to Text would automatically convert to the original string of numbers.

    There should at least be some simple setting that the experts can make to make this bizarre action take place for those that think it has value and let the other 99.99% of the world be able to use Excel without tripping over this.

    Thanks for listening...I hope you have a voice they'll hear.

    Adam

  13. There is a much easier and faster way to convert a column of numbers in text format to number format by using the data - text to columns function.

    Suppose your column contains a number like this:

    1'235'612.47

    It will be recognised as "text" due to the apostrohes. Same thing if the number contains commas, like this:

    1,235,612.47

    All you need to do is click of the column, then click the data tab and the text to columns tab. Choose "deliminted". Un-check all the delimiters, like Tab, Semicolon, Comma, Space and so on. Click Next, then Advanced. In the boxes which appears, specify the thousands seperator which is being used by the text number. i.e. an apostrophe in the first case or a comma in the second. Click OK and Finish and all numbers are now in number format.

  14. Hi,thank you very much for your the sharing. I have a case here which cannot be addressed by any of the methods above. I create a pivot and use "customer ID"(which is already transferred to text in backend data) as a pivot filter. But when I use the filter to vlookup the customer name(so that I can get the corresponding customer name when filter changes), it failed. I guess it's still due to the cell format but wonder how to fix it by using a formula. "=text(**,"@") " doesn't work.

  15. Can you plz give me a solution for this
    Eg: What(4) do(2) you(3) want(4)

  17. I need the formula of one value i put in one colums same value i need in another colums . ie. 1275 in one colums another colum one thousand two hundred seventy five only. Pls give me the formula.

  18. I need to know how to input numerical data into a column and have it converted to word text. (Example.....if I type in 3, i want excel to convert it to the color white.) What formula or method do I need to use.

  19. How to convert numeric value ???

  20. This didn't work for me. I've tried absolutely everything and I cannot convert the numbers to stored text.

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