Scientific notation: remove this "feature" from Excel!

Question

Please allow users to paste phone numbers, without converting it to scientific notation. It's a shame.

Who need it? How many years people should "hack" Excel to paste numbers?

See this SuperUser post to all the pain you do to users just for a simple Ctrl+V.

I tried to format cells as text, I removed all cells, selected all cells, put Formatting, Number=>Text. After that pasted.

I saw my big numbers as bellow in ... scientific format... I hate now the scientific format.

tried it before the paste however that does not help, tried after the paste, does not help.

This is a bug: the formatted as text column should not convert anything to anything!

paste this one 1837503030608800000

If I convert this as a number, it will remove all the spaces, I don't want my spaces be removed! I want my text as it is initially.

I never in my live needed the scientific notation, however I work in IT all my live.

The Excel is kidding on itself

old complaints, https://superuser.com/a/413277/465922

any correction from MS for years !

Answer 1

hello, as I already mentioned, and it is mentioned in the SuperUser post, the formatting as text, does not help, nor before, nor after the paste.

This is why I say that this is an Excel bug. Should not behave like this.

I can't start my input with apostrophe, I copy from one big excel, and paste it in another... should I manually update the hundreds of items, or create additional columns with formulas just to paste a text as is it ?

how even the formatting does not help, but if a number like this is kept in numeric format, it is displayed like it OK, but once converted in text format, Excel will convert it in Scientific notation, it's horrible.

Answer 2

Here my steps

1 FORMAT

2 copy

3 PASTE

I am an Excel advanced user, this is an Excel bug, once again please see the talks in the SuperUser forum I linked in the OP.

Afraid you can't propose a solution, as the actual version of Excel bogues.

Answer 3

Hi admin-sdc,

Greetings! Thank you for posting to Microsoft Community.

Format the cell(s) as text before you enter the phone number.

Or start your input with an apostrophe, the ' sign tells Excel your input is a text and the ' is suppress on screen.

Best Regards,

Snow Lu

Answer 4

Try

1. Set the format as text first.
2. Copy your number to notepad
3. Then paste to excel.

Answer 5

I am an Excel advanced user

As advanced user, you know that you can open the little "(Ctrl)" icon that appears after you paste and correct the formatting afterwards. 😉

Or right-click before you paste and choose the correct paste option.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/paste-options-8ea795b0-87cd-46af-9b59-ed4d8b1669ad

Andreas.