I am converting a column of fractions to decimal. When I do this either by
format - cells - number - decimal, or by using a FIXED formula (i.e:
=FIXED(I25,4,TRUE)) it will convert properly IF the original fraction is
greater or equal to one. I have 1/2 in a cell, it will not convert to a
decimal. How the cell is formatted (either text or number) does not make a
difference with the conversion. Here is what happens: If the cell that has
1/2 as the value is formatted as text or as a number, and I then convert it
to a fraction, it gives me a 5 digit number: 37988. 3/4 is translated to
38050, 5/16 is translated into 38115, etc. If I then go and double click in
the cell that reads 1/2, the 5 digit number then turns into a decimal.
Double clicking in the cell that reads 37988 does nothing. There has to be a
simpler way. I just want to convert all fractions to decimals. In summary
my questions a 1) where are these 5 digit numbers coming from? 2) why are
numbers less than 1 not converting to a regular decimal format? 3) what
formula functions or procedure would I use to streamline this problem without
having to do so much manual manipulation?

Thanks for any advice.
Liz