Forum Discussion
urgent! i need help on how to copy & paste number ID from a webpage to excel
hi i need urgent help!!! I have been sitting in front of my desktop trying to copy and paste only numbers ID from a webpage to excel but to no avail regardless spending exceeding 2 hours experimenting how to set it right in excel. after pasting in the column, when i click away, that particular column's pasted number would auto change to 5.80948E+17. pls pls help me guiding me step-by-step tutorial thanks
1 Reply
hi natcoolmy This is a very common Excel behavior 😊 — don’t worry, your data is not being changed, Excel is just displaying it incorrectly. The issue happens because Excel automatically converts long numbers into scientific notation.
BEST & EASIEST SOLUTION (Recommended)
Method 1: Format the column BEFORE pasting
Open Excel
Select the entire column where you will paste the IDs
(Click the column letter at the top, e.g., Column A)
Right-click → Format Cells
Choose Text
Click OK
Now paste the numbers from the webpage
The numbers will stay exactly as copied
No scientific notation
No data loss
ALTERNATIVE METHOD (If you already pasted)
Method 2: Convert existing scientific notation back
If the IDs are already showing as 5.80948E+17:
Select the affected column
Right-click → Format Cells
Choose Text
Click OK
In an empty column, use this formula:
=TEXT(A1,"0")
Copy the formula down
Copy the results → Paste Values
Delete the original column
This works only if Excel hasn’t already truncated digits
(If the number was over 15 digits, the extra digits are permanently lost)
METHOD FOR WEB COPY
Method 3: Add an apostrophe before pasting
In Excel, click the target cell
Type:
'
Paste the number immediately after
Example:
'580948123456789123
Excel treats it as text
Preserves every digit
Ideal for IDs, serial numbers, invoice numbers
