Hi oldblindpew,

while importing data itself, why don't you convert the same to text.
It is not clear from your post, from where r u importing data into excel ?
If it is a *.txt file, while importing the same you can convert the entire
column to text in single stroke.
click on data - import external data - import data - selected fixed width -
next - create your columns by clicking at the desired points - next - select
the column you want to convert to text - select column data format at "text"
- complete the procedure and you will be at home.

if you are importing any other file format, kindly let us know so that we
can suggest the remedy for the same.

click yes below, if it helps



"oldblindpew" wrote:

Excel doesn't seem to understand the concept of numeric text strings. If it
looks like a number, Excel seems bent on making it a number. If I import
data from some other source, e.g., Part Numbers, or Cost Account Codes, I
have trouble with functions like VLOOKUP, because there is not a match
between key values, even though they look alike. I have to manually reenter
the values in order to convert them back into text, so they will match the
values in the lookup table.

My question is, when is Excel going to straighten this mess out, and until
then, how can I convert an entire column of numbers back into text, short of
pressing F2 and Enter five thousand times?

Thanks,