why does excel convert the number to 0 after 15 numbers?

C

Claudia

if I type 123456789012345679 it convert it to 123456789012345000. Anyone know
how to stop excel from doing this?
 
B

Bernard Liengme

I image you are entering things like social security or credit card
"numbers" on which no math will ever be done. Two tricks to avoid your
problem
1) type a single quote (apostrophe) before entering the number - it will not
show on spreadsheet or on hardcopy
OR
2) Before entering the number, format the cells to be used as Text

Reason: like most computer apps, Excel uses the IEEE convention for storing
numbers and this limits numbers to 15 sig figs (still big enough for the US
national debt but don't hold your breath!)

best wishes
 
M

Myrna Larson

The limit for true numbers is 15 digits. Anything you type after that is
converted to 0. Assuming you don't want to do math on this number, format the
column as text before you start to enter the data, or type an apostrophe
before the 1st digit. The entry will now be text, not a number
 
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