Converting text to numbers:

On the request of Luc De Boeck, I will show you how numbers are formatted as text, changing of number formats, so that they can be used in operations and formulas.
For clarity’s sake, this tip is valid for all versions of Excel.
In the picture below, you can see that there are numbers in column A but, they are not actually numbers, but text.
We see this because they are left aligned, by default, in the cell.
If they are really numbers, or figures, whatever you call it, then they are always right justified, by default.The first thing we do is, select an empty cell.
You can also use the shortcut, Ctrl + C, on your keyboard.
This copies the contents of the cell.
This can be seen by the dotted lines around the cell (1).

Then select the cells whose contents you want to convert to numbers (2).

Then click the arrow pointing downwards under the “Paste” (3) button.
Then select “Paste Special” from the drop-down menu (4).

In the “Paste Special” dialog box, select the “Add” (5) operation.
Then click the OK button (6).

You can now edit and format the numbers as you want with any other format.

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