Displaying values with more than 12 characters in Excel - TechRepublic

Displaying values with more than 12 characters in Excel

By default, Microsoft Excel displays cells that contain a number with more than 12 characters as scientific notation. Follow these three simple steps to change how Excel formats these large numbers.

May 24, 2005
We may earn from vendors via affiliate links or sponsorships. This might affect product placement on our site, but not the content of our reviews. See our Terms of Use for details.

If you ever enter a very large number into a cell, you’ll
notice that Microsoft Excel displays it in scientific notation. For example,
when you enter the number 1231231231234 in a cell, Excels displays 1.23123E+12. No matter how large you make
the cell width, Excel still displays a number larger then 12 characters in
scientific notation.

To display the number in a format other than scientific
notation, you need to reformat the cell(s). Here’s how:

  1. Select
    the cells that will hold the larger values and right-click the selection.
  2. Select
    Format Cells.
  3. In the
    Number tab, select the desired format (e.g., Number) and click OK.

Now when you enter the values that have more than 12
characters they will be formatted as numbers and not scientific notation.

Help users increase productivity by automatically signing up for TechRepublic’s free Microsoft Office Suite newsletter, featuring Word, Excel, and Access tips, delivered each Wednesday.