[Paj90909]

In Excel I am trying to use codes to represent things but these codes need to have a '00' in front of the next 3 numbers. I have been trying all the different number formats and none seem to work. Another Example is:

I would put in the box 00987
But when I clicked off it would just display as 987
I NEED! it to have those 2 numbers in front of the 3 digits. Is there any way at all I could do that?

[DJh6064]

Create a custom number format of 5 zeros. Go to the Number tab in the Format cells dialog window. Under Category, select custom, below the Type box, onput 00000. This will show from 1-5 zeros depending on the original number. 304 would show as 00304; 57 would show as 00056; 12345 would show as 12345 etc..

[slurpee55]

Or, even simpler - if you are in the US, just go to Format, Cells, Special and select ZIP Code. Same result, less typing....
However, this is just for looks - formatting will print, but if you try to export the data and want the zeros in front, then the easiest thing is to format as 5 digits, copy the column and paste into Notepad (that will retain the zeros), go back and format as text and copy/paste the data back in from Notepad.

[deazy86]

Also you can change the cell format to "text" instead of number. It works!!

[slurpee55]

Originally Posted by deazy86

Also you can change the cell format to "text" instead of number. It works!!

Yes, deazy, and that is part of what I mentioned. But, given that the poster is wanting "00987" there is a good chance that there are already a lot of numbers entered. I would suggest that it wouldn't be fun to go back through a thousand numbers or so and type in a lot of zeros....