Let us assume the following situation: You have received an Excel file which looks actually quite nice. But you notice something: The rows and column headings missing. That means, the numbers 1, 2, 3 on the left-hand side are gone and the letters A, B, C are also not shown. Here is how to get them back! Contents The problem: Row numbers and column headings missingDoes your Excel window look like this? No row numbers and column letters are shown.The row numbers and column headings are missing. So, there is not written A, B, C and so on above the columns. And 1, 2, 3… is missing to identify the rows. However, you can still see the cell “address” (here C4, highlighted in yellow), right? Then, it’s time now to get them back! Follow these two steps to show row and column headings: In order to show (or hide) the row and column numbers and letters go to the View ribbon. Set the check mark at “Headings”. That’s it! Headings missing on multiple sheets?Maybe you have noticed it: You have to do this for all worksheets again (assuming that headings are missing on multiple worksheets). So, how to get the headings back on all sheets with just a few clicks? Select all worksheets (hold down the Ctrl key and click on the tabs or alternatively press and hold the Shift key and click on the sheet tabs – that way you also select the sheets in-between). Now, do the steps as shown before: Go to the View ribbon and click on “Headings”. Do you want to boost your productivity in Excel? Get the Professor Excel ribbon! Add more than 120 great features to Excel! Further readingIn this context, the following articles might be interesting for you:
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay Henrik Schiffner is a freelance business consultant and software developer. He lives and works in Hamburg, Germany. Besides being an Excel enthusiast he loves photography and sports. Post navigationSave 5 minutes a day by using ASAP Utilities to quickly fix the numbers that Excel may not recognize. "Easily make Excel recognize the numbers in your selection"Sometimes Excel fails to recognize numbers properly, which causes unexpected results when you sort, filter, or use formulas. For example, when you import a file that was created in another program, such as an accounting package, downloaded from a mainframe or copied from a website, then Excel may fail to recognize the numbers. Some Excel values may then look like numbers, but Excel thinks they are text. These numbers are then usually left-aligned (by default, text is left-aligned and numbers are right-aligned in Excel). You sometimes may experience that:
But this is easy to fix. Just select the cells and use: This "Convert unrecognized numbers (text?) to numbers" tool quickly fixes the numbers in your selection.
Tip: If your formulas don't give the correct result or don't calculate, then in addition to fixing the numbers, you may also want to verify that the calculation of your workbook is set to Automatic (or press F9 to calculate when calculation is set to Manual): ASAP Utilities compared to Excel's built in "Convert to number"Excel (2002+) has built in "Error Checking Options", which can help to detect numbers stored as text and help sometimes to fix them. Numbers that are formatted as text are left-aligned instead of right-aligned in the cell, and are often marked with an error indicator.If the cells in which numbers are displayed as text contain an error indicator in the upper-left corner (a small green triangle), you can select that cell and then click the error button next to the cell. Then you can choose "Convert to Number" on the pop-up menu. While this is a handy tool, it doesn't always detect all numbers that are stored as text properly and you cannot choose your own range to run Microsoft Excel's built-in "Convert to Number" tool on. When compared to Excel's built-in solution, these are the benefits of ASAP Utilities:
Do you recognize any of these situations?
Just select the cells and then choose the following tool in the Excel menu: We find that this tool is often easier, quicker and also more reliable than
Microsoft's advised and built-in methods (text to number/paste special workaround, or the text to columns workaround). Bonus tips, also interesting
How much time will it save?It's guaranteed that you'll save yourself time and effort by using this tool. However, the actual time saved depends on how much you use Excel, the amount of data you are working with and how often you use this particular tool. DownloadIn case you don't have ASAP Utilities yet, you can download the free Home&Student edition (for home projects, schoolwork and use by charitable organizations) or the fully functional 90-day Business trial. |