doing worksheet for ordering zeros at beginning of numbers disappear. How do
I format to keep zero in group of numbers ie 04581

FormatCellsNumberCustom In the Type box, enter 00000

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Kind Regards,

Niek Otten

Microsoft MVP - Excel

"spoggy" wrote in message
...
doing worksheet for ordering zeros at beginning of numbers disappear. How
do
I format to keep zero in group of numbers ie 04581

hi,
numbers with leading zeros should be entered as text.
when entering the number, enter an apostrophe first.
like this '04581. excel will hide the apostrophe and
keep the leading zero.
you could enter a custom format to force excel to show a
zero but this would only show a zero in the cell. in the
formula bar, the zero would not be there. in other words,
formating does not change the data. it changes the way it
looks on screen.

-----Original Message-----
doing worksheet for ordering zeros at beginning of
numbers disappear. How do
I format to keep zero in group of numbers ie 04581
.

Better than a custom number format, and also better than a laeding
apostrophe, is to format the cells as Text.

After selecting the cells you want treated this way, use the menu to choose
Format | Cells | Number & from the left hand panel (Category) choose Text &
click on OK.

Once you've done that, you can freely enter leading zeros without the need
to use an initial apostrophe



"spoggy" wrote:

doing worksheet for ordering zeros at beginning of numbers disappear. How do
I format to keep zero in group of numbers ie 04581

If you have a whole column to enter that way, then just highlight the
column, Format Cells NumberTab Text OK.........this way you don't
have to remember to type the leading apostrophe each time, nor do your
users........

Vaya con Dios,
Chuck, CABGx3


"spoggy" wrote in message
...
doing worksheet for ordering zeros at beginning of numbers disappear. How
do
I format to keep zero in group of numbers ie 04581

Duke Carey,

Thanx. I needed help in this area as I am new to Excel 2003. I am
writing a data worksheet displaying binary, hexadecimal, and decimal
numbers. I read your reply and you made my day.


--
ill
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