How do I create a phone number format with only dashes and numbers

Question

I am trying to create a phone number format with only numbers and dashes.  I have a file with phone numbers formatted as (###) ###-####.  I want to reformat to ###-###-####.  I tried and the attached screen shot does not work.

Answer 1

This is so simple to do. No macros are needed.

In the column next to the column you want to format, enter the phone number in the desired format and press return. Then press Control-e to invoke Flash Fill. The column will fill with the proper formatting.

Answer 2

Use

000-000-0000

or 

###-###-####

If you may also have numbers without area codes, use

[<=9999999]000-0000;000-000-0000

etc.

If that does not work, it is because the phone numbers are actually strings, entered with the parens - you will need to remove the parens, spaces, dashes, etc. after applying the formatting to have it all work.  When you enter a new number only type the ten digits.

Answer 3

It's formatted wrong.

Do the following:

1. Open Format Column or  Cell
2. Switch to Special and choose "phone"
3. It will show as : [<=9999999]###-####;(###);###-#### as your screenshot above.
4. In the type Box type this: [<=9999999]###-####;###-###-####

Remove the ( )'s and add a  dash.

If you want to have the number to be just series of number (like 1234567890) remove the last two dashes at far right.

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Answer 4

I did as you suggested, but when I chick OK, the cell is not reformatted.

Answer 5

The cell is not showing a re-formatted value because the entry is not a number. The formula bar will show the actual entry, and it should only be 10 digits. You need to re-format the cell and then re-enter the value: If you are processing a lot of cells, using Find and replace to remove the extra characters acts as a re-entry.