Excel changes digit at end of an entry

[drtom]

Excell 2003, WinXP Pro
I am entering a 16 digit number into a cell. The last digit in the number is a 1 but Excel changes the 1 to a 0, regardless of how the cell is formated. If I enter a 15 digit number the last digit remains a 1 as I have entered it. Is my machine possessed?

 

[SkipVought]

Hi,

It is a limit in the precision Excel can handle.

Skip,

Want to get great answers to your Tek-Tips questions? Have a look at FAQ219-2884

 

[redsteve11]

Just change the cell's format to text, and if you need to use the number in a calculation, just take that cell and multiply it by 1. This will eliminate the last digit turning into a 0.

 

[SkipVought]

A string of digits is MUCH different than a number!

There is still no way to do arithmetic with that precision.

Skip,

Want to get great answers to your Tek-Tips questions? Have a look at FAQ219-2884

 

[redsteve11]

I know a sting is different than a number...perhaps I stated it wrong, a 16 digit number in this case could be like a credit card number, in which case you do not need it for calculations, in that case changing it to text will eliminate the last number changing to a 0. If you wanted to then use that long of a digit for calculations, you could mulitply it by 1, but it will change the last digit to a 0.

 

[drtom]

Thanks, I didn't know that. I did change it to text as it is a number I use for reference but I find it hard to believe that there isn't someone out there who needs to calculate numbers in the quadrillions. After all, there is a name for it. I supose they just use exponents.