{"id":2877,"date":"2013-12-04T12:07:38","date_gmt":"2013-12-04T12:07:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.club4ca.com\/formats\/?p=2877"},"modified":"2013-12-04T12:07:38","modified_gmt":"2013-12-04T12:07:38","slug":"excel-numeric-limitation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.club4ca.com\/formats\/info-technology\/excel-numeric-limitation\/","title":{"rendered":"Excel Numeric Limitation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Excel\u2019s Numeric Limitations<\/strong><\/p>\n

Excel users may be curious about the types of values that Excel can handle.
\nIn other words, how large can numbers be? And how accurate are large
\nnumbers?<\/p>\n

Excel\u2019s numbers are precise up to 15 digits. For example, if you enter a large value, such as 123,456,789,123,456,789 (18 digits), Excel actually
\nstores it with only 15 digits of precision. This 18-digit number displays as 123,456,789,123,456,000. This precision may seem quite limiting, but in
\npractice, it rarely causes any problems.<\/p>\n

One situation in which the 15-digit accuracy can cause a problem is when entering credit card numbers. Most credit card numbers are 16 digits, but
\nExcel can handle only 15 digits, so it substitutes a zero for the last credit card digit. Even worse, you may not even realize that Excel made the card
\nnumber invalid. The solution: Enter the credit card numbers as text. The easiest way is to preformat the cell as Text (choose Home \u27aa Number and
\nchoose Text from the drop-down Number Format list). Or you can precede the credit card number with an apostrophe. Either method prevents Excel from interpreting the entry as a number.<\/p>\n

Here are some of Excel\u2019s other numeric limits:<\/p>\n

Largest positive number: 9.9E+307
\nSmallest negative number: \u20139.9E+307
\nSmallest positive number: 1E\u2013307
\nLargest negative number: \u20131E\u2013307<\/p>\n

These numbers are expressed in scientific notation. For example, the largest positive number is \u201c9.9 times 10 to the 307th power\u201d \u2014 in other words, 99
\nfollowed by 306 zeros. Keep in mind, though, that this number has only 15 digits of accuracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Excel\u2019s Numeric Limitations Excel users may be curious about the types of values that Excel can handle. In other words, how large can numbers be? And how accurate are large numbers? Excel\u2019s numbers are precise up to 15 digits. For example, if you enter a large value, such as 123,456,789,123,456,789 (18 digits), Excel actually stores it with only 15 digits of precision. This 18-digit number displays as 123,456,789,123,456,000. This precision may seem quite limiting, but in practice, it rarely causes any problems. One situation in which the 15-digit accuracy can cause a problem is when entering credit card numbers. Most<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[57],"class_list":["post-2877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-info-technology","tag-excel"],"yoast_head":"\nExcel Numeric Limitation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Excel users may be curious about the types of values that Excel can handle.In other words, how large can numbers be? 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