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I can't format the cells in spreadsheet to enter just the numbers

Asked by pgtl_10

Every time I try to change the cell format so I can just enter numbers I get an E+ at the end of the number and a decimal after the first number.

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Tony Pursell
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Joe Barker (joeb454) said : 		#1

What number are you trying to enter into the cell?

If it's greater than a certain figure (I'm unsure of what that is exactly) OOo uses the E+ notation to signify the number you entered. However it should display correctly in the actual cell.

For example. 123456789123456789 is displayed correctly in the cell, however the formula box for this cell shows 1.23456789123457E+017 - which is 1.23456789123457 x (10^17)

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pgtl_10 (pgtl-10) said : 		#2

It's a 16 digit number. The cell won't show up to 16 digits.

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pgtl_10 (pgtl-10) said : 		#3

Apparantly I get the right number of digits but the last digit always shows 0. How do I correct that?

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Douglas Moyes (aragorn-stellimare) said : 		#4

Aye... The answer lies in the Great Mystical Tomes

Move thine mouse pointer to "Help" and press down on the holy left mouse button key. Select and click on "OpenOffice.org Help"

Now search for: "Cell Formats"

Behold thine revelations!

There is much magic to OpenOffice, and somethings that it can do that Microsoft Office can't. Read and enjoy.

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pgtl_10 (pgtl-10) said : 		#5

Done that. Didn't solve my problem.

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Best Tony Pursell (ajpursell) said : 		#6

It all depends on whether you want the cell to show a long string of numbers, or to store a large number to be used in calculations.

If it is the latter, then you must except the limit in Calc of 15 significant digits. However, if you just want, say, 123456789123456789 displayed correctly, then put an apostrophe (otherwise called a single quote) at the start of the string, thus

'123456789123456789

It will display as

123456789123456789

but Calc will treat it as a character string, not a number. You may also want to format it right-justified.

Tony

PS If this answers your question, please mark it as solved.

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pgtl_10 (pgtl-10) said : 		#7

Thanks Tony Pursell, that solved my question.

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Margaret Moore (margaretmoore1981) said : 		#8

Thanks Tony I looked everywhere for this answer. I appreciate your knowledge.......