Last month, I shared a tip about how to clear out the numeric/text error in Excel without having to correct it one cell at a time. I mentioned there was no blanket way to turn it off, but I was… WRONG! A colleague pointed out an option setting in Excel that allows you to ignore that error completely.
Go into your Excel spreadsheet and select File > Options > Formulas:
Down under Error Checking Rules, you’ll see a checkbox for turning off the error for Numbers formatted as text or preceded by an apostrophe.
Now, when you make that change and save your spreadsheet, all future uses of Excel will maintain that setting. You need to determine if that’s the type of behavior you want to have across the board, and reset it back to “normal” if necessary. However, this is a lifesaver when you’re dealing with things like zip codes or phone numbers. 🙂
One Minute Office Magic 