Transforming text to numbers and vice versa in Excel is essential for effective data management. By converting text to numbers, you enhance the accuracy of calculations and data processing, which is vital for activities such as financial reporting and statistical analysis. Conversely, changing numbers to text can improve formatting, making outputs clearer and more readable, ultimately presenting data in a more user-friendly way.

In this article, you will learn how to convert text to numbers and numbers to text in Excel using Spire.XLS for .NET.

• Convert Text to Numbers in C#
• Convert Numbers to Text in C#

Install Spire.XLS for .NET

To begin with, you need to add the DLL files included in the Spire.XLS for .NET package as references in your .NET project. The DLL files can be either downloaded from this link or installed via NuGet.

PM> Install-Package Spire.XLS

Convert Text to Numbers in C#

When you import data from an external source into Excel, you might notice a small green triangle in the upper-left corner of certain cells. This triangle serves as an error indicator, signaling that the number is formatted as text. When numbers are stored as text, it can lead to unexpected outcomes, such as formulas not calculating correctly and displaying as text instead of yielding results.

To convert text-formatted numbers back to numeric format, you can use the CellRange.ConvertToNumber() method. The CellRange object can refer to either a single cell or a range of cells.

Here are the steps to convert text to numbers in Excel:

• Create a Workbook object.
• Load an Excel file using Workbook.LoadFromFile() method.
• Access a specific worksheet with Workbook.Worksheets[index] property.
• Retrieve a cell or range of cells using Worksheet.Range property.
• Convert the text in the cell(s) to numbers using CellRange.ConvertToNumber() method.
• Save the document as a new Excel file.

using Spire.Xls;

namespace ConvertTextToNumbers
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {

            // Create a Workbook object
            Workbook workbook = new Workbook();

            // Load an Excel document
            workbook.LoadFromFile("C:\\Users\\Administrator\\Desktop\\Input.xlsx");

            // Get a specific worksheet
            Worksheet worksheet = workbook.Worksheets[0];

            // Get a cell range
            CellRange range = worksheet.Range["D2:G13"];

            // Convert text to number
            range.ConvertToNumber();

            // Save the workbook to a different Excel file
            workbook.SaveToFile("TextToNumbers.xlsx", ExcelVersion.Version2013);

            // Dispose resources
            workbook.Dispose();
        }
    }
}

Convert Numbers to Text in C#

When working with numerical data in Excel, you may find occasions where converting numbers to text is necessary. This is especially crucial for data that requires specific formatting, such as IDs or phone numbers, where leading zeros must be preserved.

To convert a number in a cell to text, you can set the CellRange.NumberFormat property to @. The CellRange object can represent either a single cell or a range of cells.

Here are the steps to convert numbers to text in Excel:

• Create a Workbook object.
• Load an Excel file using Workbook.LoadFromFile() method.
• Access a specific worksheet through Workbook.Worksheets[index] property.
• Retrieve a specific cell or range of cells using Worksheet.Range property.
• Convert the numbers in the cell(s) to text by setting CellRange.NumberFormat to @.
• Save the document as a new Excel file.

using Spire.Xls;

namespace ConvertNumbersToText
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            // Create a Workbook object
            Workbook workbook = new Workbook();

            // Load an Excel document
            workbook.LoadFromFile("C:\\Users\\Administrator\\Desktop\\Employee.xlsx");

            // Get a specific worksheet
            Worksheet worksheet = workbook.Worksheets[0];

            // Get a cell range
            CellRange cellRange = worksheet.Range["F2:F9"];

            // Convert numbers in the cell range to text
            cellRange.NumberFormat = "@";

            // Save the workbook to a different Excel file
            workbook.SaveToFile("NumbersToText.xlsx", ExcelVersion.Version2013);

            // Dispose resources
            workbook.Dispose();
        }
    }
}

Apply for a Temporary License

If you'd like to remove the evaluation message from the generated documents, or to get rid of the function limitations, please request a 30-day trial license for yourself.