Formatting cells so that they're not numbers

[mthompson93]

I want zeros at the beginning of what are currently formatted as numbers. Right now, it automatically deletes any zeroes I try to add before the numbers. How can I make this work?

Also, assuming the first task is accomplished, is it then possible to take every number/code, and add enough zeroes to the front of them in order to make the full code 12-digits?

[shg]

Format the cells as Text beforehand, then enter all the zeros you want.

In the alternative, you can custom-format the cells as 000000000000, but the underlying value will just be the number.

[Marcol]

Try in a spare column

Assuming your data is in Column A

=REPT("0",12-LEN(A1))&A1
Fill down

Then Copy and PasteSpecial > values to your desired location.

Cheers

[mthompson93]

formatting the cells as text was very helpful, thank you

is there a way to automatically take a column and ask Excel to add sufficient zeroes to the beginning of each cell's content so that the total # of digits is 12? there are over 4000 cells in my database so it would take a really long time to add the zeroes manually

[mthompson93]

oh nice, thanks!

[Marcol]

We are always happy to have helped.

If you need any further information, please feel free to ask further

However

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