Column labels became numbers instead of letters (2024)

FAQs

Column labels became numbers instead of letters? ›

Solution: Clear the R1C1 reference style selection in Excel preferences. On the Excel menu, click Preferences. Clear the Use R1C1 reference style check box. The column headings now show A, B, and C, instead of 1, 2, 3, and so on.

Find the "Working with formulas" section that's beneath the "Calculation options" section. Deselect the checkbox that says "R1C1 reference style." Click on the "OK" button in the bottom right corner to confirm your selection. Return to your Excel worksheet to see all the column headings convert to letters.

This behavior occurs when the R1C1 reference style check box is selected in the Options dialog box.

On the Excel menu, click Preferences. Clear the Use R1C1 reference style check box. The column headings now show A, B, and C, instead of 1, 2, 3, and so on.

Select the column that's immediately to the right of the last column you want frozen. Select the View tab, Windows Group, click the Freeze Panes drop down and select Freeze Panes. Excel inserts a thin line to show you where the frozen pane begins.

It sounds like you may have accidentally changed the reference style in Excel from the default letter-column and number-row format to the R1C1 reference style. To change it back, go to the "File" tab, click on "Options," then select "Formulas" from the left-hand menu.

Microsoft Excel might show ##### in cells when a column isn't wide enough to show all of the cell contents. Formulas that return dates and times as negative values can also show as #####. To make a column wider to show cell contents in full, select the right edge of the column header and drag it to the width you want.

Stop your numbers from automatically formatting

You can prevent this automatic number formatting by applying the Text format to the cells. It's easy to do: Select the cells that contain numbers you don't want Excel to automatically format. Select CTRL+1.

How do I change a column back to text in Excel? ›

Select a column, and then select Transform > Rename. You can also double-click the column header. Enter the new name.

Re: Column labels became numbers instead of letters

Select File > Options > Formulas. Under 'Working with formulas', clear the check box 'R1C1 reference style'. Click OK.

In order to show (or hide) the row and column numbers and letters go to the View ribbon. Set the check mark at “Headings”. That's it!