Convert text to number format in Excel

Question

How can I convert text representations of numbers into Excel numbers, especially negative values? For example, the string "9,669.34" (without quotes) should become the number 9,669.34 and the string "2,553.57-" (again, without quotes) should become the number (2,553.57).

When I used the formula =SUBSTITUTE(A1,CHAR(160),"")+0, it worked well, but only for positive values. I received the result #VALUE! for all negative values.

Solution

For (2,553.57), you can use VALUE, such as VALUE("(2,553.57)").

Excel doesn't seem to recognize 2,553.57- as a valid number when it is a string, so assuming you have a value of "2,553.57-" in A1, you would have to do a little more work:

=VALUE(IF(RIGHT(A2,1)="-","-"&SUBSTITUTE(A2,"-","")))

EDIT

=VALUE(IF(RIGHT(A2,1)="-","-"&SUBSTITUTE(A2,"-",""),A2))

From the Microsoft site:

• Text can be in any of the constant number, date, or time formats recognized by Microsoft Excel. If text is not in one of these formats, VALUE returns the #VALUE! error value.
• You do not generally need to use the VALUE function in a formula because Excel automatically converts text to numbers as necessary. This function is provided for compatibility with other spreadsheet programs.

More information can be found at Microsoft's website: Value Function

Comments

[Bob]

The =VALUE(IF(RIGHT(A2,1)="-","-"&SUBSTITUTE(A2,"-",""))) only takes the negative value & not the positive value. How can I apply a formula that can convert both positive & negative values ? I hv hundreds of row to manage.

[Bob]

ok, I found it. I can do with =VALUE(IF(RIGHT(A2,1)="-","-"&SUBSTITUTE(A21,"-",""),A2)) OR =IF(RIGHT(A2,1)="-",VALUE("-"&LEFT(A2,LEN(A2)-1)),VALUE(A2))‌​. Thanks.