If they are numbers then you need a format setting not a formula! See
David's reply.

I type 1231231234 into cell
Called up cell format with CTRL+1; opened the Special group and selected
Phone Number
You can get the same effect with custom format:
[<=9999999]###-####;###-###-####
best wishes
--
Bernard V Liengme
Microsoft Excel MVP
http://people.stfx.ca/bliengme
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"Rick" wrote in message
...
they are numbers.

"Bernard Liengme" wrote:

=SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A1,"(","") ,")","-")
best wishes
--
Bernard V Liengme
Microsoft Excel MVP
http://people.stfx.ca/bliengme
remove caps from email

"Rick" wrote in message
...
I have a colume of phone numbers formatted as follows (123)123-1234.
However
I need a formula to make a new colum exchanging the format to
123-123-1234.
Is there a way to do this? thanks