Bob,

Data validation will do that

Select A1 then

Data|Validation
In the 'Allow' dropdown select 'Whole number
in the 'data' box select less than or equal to
in the maximum box enter 99999999

Similarly for b1
Select Text Length
Less than or equal to
enter 3

Mike

"Bob" wrote:

how do i specify a maximum lenght allowed in a cell.
example:

A1 = 8 digits
B1 = 3 characters