In the Format Cells dialog box, in the category option, click in Text.In the Number group, click on the dialog box launcher icon (or you can use the keyboard shortcut Control + 1).

Select the cell or range of cells where you want to make the format as Text.Since dates are stored as numbers, when you make the format of a cell text, Excel will understand that the entered number is supposed to be in the text format and not to be converted into a date.īelow is how you can stop Excel from changing numbers to dates: The easiest way to make sure Excel understands that it’s not supposed to change a number to date is by specifying the format of the cell as Text. The only way to stop Excel from changing these numbers (or text string) into dates is by clearing letting it know that these are not numbers. Also read: How to Convert Numbers to Text in Excel Stop Excel from Changing Numbers to Dates Automatically

In most cases, when people enter numbers that can also represent valid date formats in Excel, it will automatically convert these numbers into dates.Īnd this just doesn’t mean that it changes the format, it actually changes the underlying value.įor example, if you enter (or if you’re in the US and using the US date format), Excel changes the cell value to 44012, which is the numerical value of the date.

While it can be frustrating when Excel does this, it’s trying to help.

Stop Excel from Changing Numbers to Dates Automatically.

Why does Excel Changes Numbers to Date?.

Format date cells in excel not working