Excel: Convert text to number - how to do it

In order to be able to calculate with cells in Excel, numbers must of course be entered there. However, for Excel a number is not directly a number. You must first tell the program which cell should actually be interpreted as a number and not as text.

This is how you convert text to numbers in Excel

Excel tries to get ahead of you in many ways and interprets various entries correctly directly. With numbers, however, Excel would rather read them as text.

1. If you have filled cells with numbers but left-justified them, Excel interprets them as text.
2. In this case, no formulas can be applied because Excel does not see the contents of the cell as a number.
3. To work around the problem, you must first select all cells whose contents are to be interpreted as a number.
4. Now press the [CTRL] + [1] keys simultaneously to call up the formatting menu.
5. There you switch to the category "Number" and confirm your selection with "OK".

Alternative way: Text to number

1. If you already know in advance which cells should be read as numbers, you can also proceed differently.
2. Suchen Sie sich dazu eine Zelle aus und tippen Sie die gewünschte Zahl hinein.
3. Excel wird Ihnen links ein kleines Ausrufezeichen als Warnung anzeigen.
4. Wenn Sie dieses nun anklicken, können Sie aus dem Kontextmenü den Eintrag „In eine Zahl umwandeln“ auswählen.