

The CONCATENATE function joins multiple text strings into a single text string. This method adds a fixed number of leading zeros. This method is restrictive to functions that take numbers as arguments. That should ignore the error and remove all the green triangles from the cells: Click on it and select Ignore Error from the menu. Hover the cursor over the exclamation point that appears after selecting the cells with the error.Now for the errors, that doesn't look right, does it? Good that we can get rid of them. The difference in the Text format and number formats can be noted by the alignment of the cell values ( Text format is left -aligned and number formats are right-aligned). Now the leading zeros will be accepted as text and won't be eliminated from the cell value but will be displayed with an error for numbers stored as text. Enter the numbers including the leading zeros in the Text format cells.The format of the selected cells will have changed from General to Text, as seen in the Number Format bar.Click on the Number Format bar in the Home tab's Number section.

The default format of all cells is General. Select the target cells for the numbers to be entered.
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This is how to convert numbers into text with the Text format: This way, Excel will accept all the leading zeros as text instead of numbers and won't eliminate them. If the numbers are to be inputted manually (remember the help of Flash Fill for such things), the format of the target cells can be changed to the Text format. Recommended Reading: How to Remove Leading Zeros In Excel Converting the Number Into Text

If you're unsure of the implications of these methods, here's what you need to know: It all sounds so fancy for keeping mere zeros but all the methods take little time and only a few steps. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add leading zeros to a number using Text and Custom formats, the CONCATENATE, REPT, and TEXT functions and also a custom function usable via VBA. If you must stay clear of using characters, we have more adaptable methods for keeping the zeros in the lead. You may need numbers with leading zeros as product or employee codes, transaction IDs, card or role numbers. Have a look below at how Excel treats characters and spaces or the lack of them:Ī quick fix would be to lead the number with an apostrophe, like row 3 ahead:īut the apostrophe changes number to text. Looking at things from Excel's eyes, if you're trying to enter a code, let's say 0000990, Excel will process this as a number starting from the first non-zero number and return 990.Īs a standalone regular number, 990 doesn't need some zeros behind it and for that reasoning, Excel would be right because Excel doesn't have a default setting for accepting such codes, only proper numbering.Īdding a symbol or space character can help keep the zeros but that's not the case with a period.
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Have tried entering a code prefixed with a bunch of zeros only to find that not one zero made it through? That's Excel's manhandling for you.
