Aug 24 2022 01:51 PM
Hello. I have some product data with product codes like "07-2772", "12-2773" etc. If you type these strings in Excel, it'll automatically convert "07-2772" to Jul-72 and "12-2773" to Dec-73 as dates. I know I can add a single quote before string when entering. The file has thousands of rows of data. How can I make Excel stop doing this when I open the file? Thank you in advance.
Aug 24 2022 02:28 PM
Alternatively, format the cells as Text before entering data.
Aug 24 2022 02:32 PM - edited Aug 24 2022 02:33 PM
Thank you Hans. The problem is that I'm not entering data. I download the data from online and then directly open the file with data in it. When it opens, it automatically reads those data as dates. Any work around in this situation?
Aug 24 2022 02:53 PM
What kind of file is it? .csv, .txt, .xslx, ...?
Aug 24 2022 02:55 PM - edited Aug 24 2022 02:56 PM
It's downloaded as csv (only option), and I open it up in Excel.
Aug 24 2022 03:02 PM
Instead of double-clicking the .csv file, open it from within Excel.
This should activate the Text Import Wizard.
In Step 3 of this wizard, you can specify that some columns must be treated as text.
Aug 24 2022 03:19 PM - edited Aug 24 2022 03:19 PM
Got it. Thank you for your help!