The five main number formats in most spreadsheet tools are basic numbers, percentages, scientific notation, currency, and date and time. These options are usually found under the Format menu, typically within a Number section. You can also create custom formats if needed.
The simplest way to convert numbers to strings is to use the TO_TEXT() function. It only requires you to point to the cell containing the number to be converted to string. It will preserve the formatting that you can see in that original cell.
If you want more flexibility, you can use the TEXT() function. It requires you to point to the cell containing the number, and define how that number is converted to string. For our example above, if we want to rewrite the date 9/24/1978 into Sept 24, 1978, we define it as mmm dd, yyyy. So we write the formula as =TEXT(H2, “mmm dd, yyyy”) :
There are more ways to write date and time. You can check the options below:
=TEXT(A3, "mmm. dd, yyyy")
Jun. 24, 1998
=TEXT(A3, "mmmm dd, yyyy")
June 24, 1998
=TEXT(A3, "dd mm yyyy")
24 06 1998
=TEXT(A3, "dd mm yy")
24 06 98
=TEXT(A3, "dd mmm yyyy")
24 Jun 1998
=TEXT(A9,"hh:mm AM/PM")
02:55 PM
=TEXT(A9,"hh:mm")
14:55
For displaying currencies and percentages, we use the symbols # and 0. Both of them serve as number placeholders, but the symbol 0 adds a zero to the number if there are fewer digits than required in the number. If the format specifies less digits than included, then it will automatically be rounded off. Here's some examples:
=TEXT(A13, "###.000")
275.665
=TEXT(A13, "###.0")
275.7
=TEXT(A13, "0000.000")
0275.665
=TEXT(A13, "###")
276
=TEXT(A18,"0.000%")
6.746%
=TEXT(A18,"0%")
7%
=TEXT(A21,"$####.##")
$7259.25
How to Password Protect Your Spreadsheet (2025 Guide)
How to Insert a Date Picker in a Spreadsheet (2025 Guide)
