Converting Codes to Characters

Summary: Character codes are the numeric values used, by a computer, to signify various alphanumeric characters. You can use the CHAR worksheet function to discover the character code of any character. (This tip works with Microsoft Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, Excel 2003, and Excel 2007.)

Computers store information internally using numeric values. The information we see on our screens, as characters, is nothing but a conversion of those numbers into the characters associated with those numbers. Excel includes a built-in worksheet function that allows you to convert numeric values into their associated characters, as follows:

=CHAR(A3)

This example function converts the numeric value at A3 to its corresponding character. The conversion is done using an extended ASCII character set. For instance, if A3 contained the value 65, then this function would return the capital letter A.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2434) applies to Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

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Converting Codes to Characters