how do you convert numbers to strings in MS Excel?

Question

I have a column of numbers (i.e. integers). How can I convert the entire column to be a string. i.e. 12 to become '12? Thank you.

Answer 1

If I'm understanding your question, you can change the format of the column. On the top of the worksheet, click your left mouse button on the letter of the column. This will highlight the entire column.

The go to the top menu
Format
Cells
The type is probably currently listed as "number". Change this to "text".

Answer 2

in the column where you want the text or in a temporarily new column use the formula =TEXT(A1,format) where format tells Excel how to make the numbers look. For example, if "$0.00" is used there will be two decimal places and a $ in front of the number. if just "" is used, it is the bare number
Go to help, type in TEXT() and look down the list, it doesn't come up first or hit F1 while typing.
If you made a temporary column, you can copy the text into the values column, by using copy, then move the cursor and do Edit, Paste Special, choose values only (to wipe out the formulas)