Welcome toExcel.Tips.Net
Tips.Net Home
ExcelTips Home
Ask an Excel Question
Make a Comment
ExcelTips FAQ
ExcelTips Premium
Learn Access Now
Free Printable Forms
Beauty Tips
Car Tips
Cleaning Tips
College Tips
Cooking Tips
Excel2007 Tips
ExcelTips
Family Tips
Gardening Tips
Health Tips
Home Tips
Legal Tips
Money Tips
Organizing Tips
Pest Tips
Pet Tips
Wedding Tips
Word2007 Tips
WordTips
Advertise on the
ExcelTips Site
Adding a Little Animation to Your Life
Converting a Range of URLs to Hyperlinks
Making the Formula Bar Persistent
If you are a database programmer you may sometimes get Excel files that you have to "clean up" to put into Access. Two common problems are caused by Social Security Numbers and ZIP Codes. These are best stored as text in the database, and not as numbers as they often are in Excel. (In Excel the numbers may display properly because of cell formatting, and not because they are stored as text.)
Even when the range is formatted as text in Excel, complete with leading zeroes, Access more often than not converts these values to numbers. However, if the number is preceded with an apostrophe, as for a label, Access will correctly import it as text without the leading apostrophe.
To prepare Social Security Numbers for importing in Access a quick little macro can come in handy—one that makes sure that leading zeros are present and that the apostrophe is in place for the cell. To use the macro, just select the range of Social Security Numbers and then run the macro:
Sub SSN2Text()
Dim c As Range
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
'Format selected cells as text
Selection.NumberFormat = "@"
For Each c In Selection
If Left(c, 1) = "'" Then
'strip the apostrophe, if any
c = Mid(c, 2, 99)
Else
c = "'" & Right("000000000" & c, 9)
End If
Next c
Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub
The solution for the ZIP Codes is similar in nature. The macro to process ZIP Codes steps through each cell in the selection, formats it as text, adds a leading apostrophe, and plugs in any leading zeroes. The difference is that the macro must also account for instances where there are either five-digit or nine-digit ZIP Codes.
Sub ZIP2Text()
Dim c As Range
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
'Format selected cells as text
Selection.NumberFormat = "@"
For Each c In Selection
If Left(c, 1) = "'" Then
'strip the apostrophe, if any
c = Mid(c, 2, 99)
End If
If Len(c) <= 5 Then
c = "'" & Right("00000" & c, 5)
Else
c = "'" & Right("00000" & c, 10)
End If
Next c
Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2400) applies to Microsoft Excel versions: 97 2000 2002 2003 2007
Don't Go in Debt for Christmas! Tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses for Christmas? Want to enjoy the season rather than dread the aftermath? Learn how you can avoid the financial traps that spring up every Christmas.