Excel Number Stored as Text: what the green triangle means and how to fix it

The small green triangle in a cell’s corner is Excel saying: this looks like a number, but I am treating it as words. SUM skips it, VLOOKUP cannot find it, sorting puts it in the wrong place.

Why it happens

• Data pasted from a website or PDF.
• A CSV import where the column was set to Text.
• Someone typed an apostrophe first: '1250.
• The cell was formatted as Text before the number was typed.

The one-click fix

1. Select the cells (click the first, Shift + click the last).
2. Click the yellow warning icon that appears beside the selection.
3. Convert to Number.

Thousands of cells, or no triangle showing

1. Type 1 in an empty cell, copy it.
2. Select the text-numbers › right-click › Paste Special › Multiply › OK.

Or: select the column › Data › Text to Columns › Finish.

Check it worked

The numbers jump to the right side of the cells, the triangles vanish, and the status bar shows a Sum when you select them.

When you want text on purpose

Phone numbers, PIN codes, product codes with leading zeros should stay text. Leave them, and turn off the nagging: File › Options › Formulas › untick Numbers formatted as text. Or click the icon › Ignore Error.

Stop it happening

Import CSVs with Data › From Text/CSV and set number columns as numbers. See CSV to Excel. All four fixes with detail: convert text to number.