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Warner123's avatar
Warner123
Copper Contributor
Jan 30, 2025

Changing specific symbols to numbers in excel

I'm looking to change every cell with / and \ in my report on excel to a different number. I then want to do a random number generator for a raffle based on this. any help much appreciated.

  • Take this:

    Step 1: Replace Symbols with Numbers

    You can use the "Find and Replace" feature in Excel to replace specific symbols with numbers.

    1. Open your Excel file.
    2. Select the range of cells where you want to replace the symbols, or select the entire sheet by clicking the triangle at the top-left corner.
    3. Press Ctrl + H to open the "Find and Replace" dialog box.
    4. In the "Find what:" field, type /.
    5. In the "Replace with:" field, type the number you want to replace / with.
    6. Click on "Replace All".
    7. Repeat steps 4 to 6 for the \ symbol, replacing it with another number.

    Step 2: Generate Random Numbers for the Raffle

    You can use the RAND or RANDBETWEEN functions to generate random numbers for your raffle.

    1. Select the cell where you want to generate the first random number.
    2. Enter the formula. For example:
      • Use =RANDBETWEEN(1,100) to generate a random integer between 1 and 100.
      • Use =RAND() to generate a random decimal number between 0 and 1.
    3. Drag the fill handle (a small square at the bottom-right corner of the cell) to copy the formula to adjacent cells, generating random numbers for each row.

    If you want to ensure the random numbers don’t change every time the worksheet recalculates, you can copy the cells with the formulas, and then paste them as values:

    1. Select the cells with the random numbers.
    2. Press Ctrl + C to copy them.
    3. Right-click the selected cells and choose "Paste Special".
    4. Choose "Values" and click "OK".

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