stebro
find "option to prevent Excel changing 1-2-3 to a date" and agree with the
suggestion.
--
Vince
"stebro" wrote:
> I did a google usenet search and found several instances similar to this
> problem going back to 1999 with no real answers so there may not be, but here
> goes.
>
> I'm copying a table from a website and pasting into an Excel 2003
> spreadsheet. One of the columns contains "3-0", and when I paste it, as soon
> as xl sees this data it stores it as a date. I want it to stay as 3-0.
> Here's what I have tried and have learned doesn't work...
>
> * I have preset the cells, columns, and even the entire worksheet in
> different attempts to text and to "custom" with "@" - no help. Data still
> gets displayed as a date. when I try to change from a date format to a text
> format I get the number 36586; "3-0" is lost forever.
>
> * I have seen suggestions to do a paste special using only "values"; no
> good. Since the paste is from a website the only paste special options are
> "html, unicode text, & text".
>
> * I have even seen attempts at viewing & tweaking the web site's html code,
> but it's beyond me what you could do there to make the paste work differently.
>
> Is anyone aware of any other methods to defeat Excel's insistent desire to
> cheat me out of my desired cell format?
>
> Thanks,
> Steve
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