Cannot format cells containing numbers

[HornIn04]

Version: 2004
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)

I created a spreadsheet for my company a few years ago and, until a few months ago, was able to choose formatting for entire columns of data.

I can still format text (alignment, bold, underline, font size, etc.) and I can also change font size, type, bold, underline for the cells containing numbers. However, what I cannot do is adjust the alignment, or even apply styles such as currency, date, percentage, increase/decrease decimal, etc. for these cells.

I read a post from last year where someone from MS says that the number has been entered as text and to simply choose Forma>Cells>Number before entering data, but this does not work at all. Formatting numbers just seems to not be an option for my mega-spreadsheet. THIS IS A PROBLEM!

I have also tried highlighting all the data and pasting it into a new spreadsheet, to no avail.

This only happens with this ONE spreadsheet, it does not occur with any of my other spreadsheets. Am I cursed?

Please help!

HI9

 

[Laroche J]

Version: 2004
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)

I created a spreadsheet for my company a few years ago and, until a few months
ago, was able to choose formatting for entire columns of data.

I can still format text (alignment, bold, underline, font size, etc.) and I
can also change font size, type, bold, underline for the cells containing
numbers. However, what I cannot do is adjust the alignment, or even apply
styles such as currency, date, percentage, increase/decrease decimal, etc. for
these cells.

I read a post from last year where someone from MS says that the number has
been entered as text and to simply choose Forma>Cells>Number before entering
data, but this does not work at all. Formatting numbers just seems to not be
an option for my mega-spreadsheet. THIS IS A PROBLEM!

I have also tried highlighting all the data and pasting it into a new
spreadsheet, to no avail.

This only happens with this ONE spreadsheet, it does not occur with any of my
other spreadsheets. Am I cursed?

Please help!

HI9

In an unused cell of the sheet (or on another spare sheet), enter the value
0. Copy that cell. Click on the diamond at the top left corner of the sheet
to select the whole sheet (or select only the problematic range if it's
small). Then go to Paste Special, select Add, then click OK.

JL
Mac OS X 10.4.11, Office v.X 10.1.9

 

[Shane Devenshire]

Hi,

There are at least to possibilities - 1. your numbers aren't number or 2.
you have reached the limit on the number of styles.

I believe that in 2004 the limit is 4000 styles, but I'm not on my Mac right
now so that's only my guess.

If the problem is the first one, you already have a solution, although all
you really need to do is select an empty cell and copy it, then select all
the cells with text numbers and choose Edit, Paste Special, Add or Subtract.
I don't recommend copying 0 and pasting it onto the entire sheet with the Add
command. That will cause every blank cell to contain a 0. Since there are
16,777,216 cells in a spreadsheet, you are probably going to have memory
problems.

 

[HornIn04]

The only thing that pasting a 0 in in that way does is change my highlight color.
Does that 4000-style limit apply to individual cells? If that is the case, then that may be my problem. How can I troubleshoot that?

 

[Bob Greenblatt]

The only thing that pasting a 0 in in that way does is change my highlight
color.
Does that 4000-style limit apply to individual cells? If that is the case,
then that may be my problem. How can I troubleshoot that?

Assuming you have Excel 2008, there is a limit of 32,735 unique cell formats
or styles. It does not seem likely that you have reached this limit.

The sheet or workbook may be corrupt. Have you tried copying the sheet into
a new workbook?