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Entering Text

By default text is aligned and numbers are right aligned.

A cell can hold up to 32,000 characters of text although it is not recommended to have more than 255.

Not all the text functions will return the correct answer when a string contains more than 255 characters.

With text wrap formatting set in a cell (Format > Cells)(Alignment tab, Wrap Text), sometimes you want to force a line break at a certain point. You can use (Alt + Enter)

SS

You can enter tabs and carriage returns in a cell to make the text easier to read.

To enter a tab, press (Ctrl + Alt + Tab).

To enter a carriage return press (Alt + Enter).

Carriage retursn cause the contents of the cell to wrap within the cell.

Editing Text

You can quickly move between words in a cell by holding down the Ctrl key and pressing with the left or right mouse button.

Replacing Text

The easiest way to replace text in your cells is to use the (Edit > Find) dialog box.

Numbers as Text

When you enter a number into a cell it is automatically right aligned.

When you enter text into a cell it is automatically left aligned.

There may be times when you have entered a number but you want it to be considered as text.

There are two ways you can achieve this:

1) Select (Format> Cells)(Number tab) and select the Text category.

2) Place an apostrophe before the actual number. Don't worry this apostrophe is not displayed it just automatically formats the cell as Text.

Even though a cell is formatted as text it can still be used in 'some' functions and formulas.

SS A1 + 5 - when A1 is formatted as text

SS SUM() - does not work !!

Data (i.e. values) you import into Excel is often treated as Text. This can be quickly rectified by multiplying the data by 1.

SS - Example - how to multiply by 1

Text Import Wizard

When you attempt to open a text file the Text Import Wizard automatically starts to help you import the file.

You can hold down the Shift key when you press Open in the (File > Open) dialog box if you do not want the wizard to start.

Text to Columns Wizard

When you import a text file into Excel the Text to Columns Wizard should appear automatically. If this wizard does not appear then change the file extension to ".txt".

It is possible to bypass this wizard by holding down Ctrl when you open the text file.

Things to Remember

When you enter text into a cell, if the contents will automatically spill over to the next adjacent cell assuming that the cell is empty. If the cell is not empty then the text will be truncated to the width of the column.

In Excel 2002 any numbers which are preceded with an apostrophe will have a Smart Tag attached to them. This will allow you convert the 'text' value to an actual number if you want.

Text entered into a cell is often referred to as a 'string'. It may also be referred to as a 'text string'.