After copying data from an Access table, you notice that you cannot perform any calculations on what you thought were number fields. Instead of numbers, the imported values behave as text. By using Excel’s Paste Special feature, you can quickly convert those values to numbers. Follow these steps:

1. Click a blank cell formatted as a number cell and enter 1 in the cell.

2. Go to Edit | Copy.

3. Select the cells that contain the text values that you want to convert.

4. Go to Edit | Paste Special.

5. In the Operation section, click Multiply.

6. Click OK.

When importing data from some accounting programs, you may find that negative numbers import as text with the negative sign (-) to the right of the number. For example, suppose after importing, you find the text value 100- in cell H4. To convert that value to a negative number, enter this formula in a blank cell: =LEFT(H4,LEN(H4)-1)*-1.

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