If it's already formatted as 000, then you can use Decimal value < 1000, no?

"Tropical" wrote in message
...
I am trying to do 2 things. (1) use preceeding zeros in a 3 digit format,
which I can do in either text or numeric format. (2) I want to use data
validation of 3 digits, which seems to be my downfall. e.g. If I enter
036
or 008 in a cell, I want it to show as 036 or 008 and pass validation.

I can achieve this by changing to text format, but wonder if anyone knows
how to do it in numeric format. Thanks
--
Tropical