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Excel number values as text

Anonymous
2023-12-06T12:49:01+00:00

This is really just a theory question re number values as text ;

so if I enter '4 = 4 as text , but I can still perform a math operation on this so

e.g. A4 ( number 4 a as text ) A4 * 2 = number
A4 ( "a" as text ) A4 * 2 = Value error but as they are both text surely they should both produce an error, or do math operations have an effect on the nature of number values,

any directions to blog / post etc. on this subject would be welcome.

Richard

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For business | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-12-06T13:24:03+00:00

    Dear respected RichardDrake1505.

    Good day! Thank you for posting to Microsoft Community. We are happy to help you.

    As per your description, when we enter a number as text in Excel, it is treated as a text string and not as a numerical value. However, Excel has a feature called "implicit conversion" which allows it to recognize certain text strings as numerical values when used in a mathematical operation.

    When you enter '4 = 4 as text, Excel treats the ‘4 as a number, not as text. This is because the apostrophe (’) is a special character that tells Excel to ignore the format of the cell and store the value as it is. When you perform a math operation on a cell that contains '4, Excel will use the value 4, not the text '4. This is why A4 * 2 = 8, not an error.

    In your example, when you enter '4 as text, Excel recognizes it as the text string "4" and not as the numerical value 4. However, when you perform a mathematical operation on it (e.g. A4 * 2), Excel recognizes that you are trying to perform a mathematical operation and automatically converts the text string "4" to the numerical value 4.

    However, when you perform a math operation on a cell that contains “a” as text, Excel will try to convert the text to a number and fail. This is why A4 * 2 = #VALUE!, which means that Excel cannot perform the calculation.

    To summarize, the apostrophe (') is a special character that tells Excel to store the value as it is, regardless of the format of the cell. And math operations do not change the nature of number values in Excel, but they can convert text values that look like numbers to numeric values.

    For your reference: Combine text and numbers - Microsoft Support

    ![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/b3ce5652-199e-45ae-8947-6df0bcffa423?platform=QnA

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-12-06T13:50:38+00:00

    Thank you,

    RD

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  2. Rory Archibald 18,885 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2023-12-06T13:20:59+00:00

    Operators (unlike most functions) will coerce numeric strings to number values.

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