date problem in excel

W

Wozniak

I have a problem that when I open a file, like text or csv file, the cell
with number dash number, ex. 10-5, will be automatically changed to date
format. But this really affect my data analysis. I know we could add ' before
typing or change cell format before typing, but how to cancel this autoformat
when opening another file??

Thanks
 
M

Max

Perhaps one work-around ..

Try to force the file opening to go through the Text Import Wizard
(rename the file to have a .txt extension in explorer)

Click Next > Next to proceed to step 3 of the wizard
In the Text Import Wizard's step 3:
Select the column(s) affected (in turn, one at a time) in the Data preview
pane, then check: "Text" under "Column data format", then click Finish

Columns checked "Text" will be preserved intact
 
M

Max

Try to force the file opening to go through the Text Import Wizard
(rename the file to have a .txt extension in explorer)
Click to expand...

Then open the file from within Excel (via File > Open, then select "Text
Files" in the "Files of type:" droplist)
 
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