TEXT Function in Excel: Format Numbers and Dates as Text

TEXT Function in Excel: Format Numbers and Dates as Text featured illustration

📎 This article includes 2 downloadable practice files ↓

⏱ 2 min readUpdated 28 September 2026

TextLevel: BeginnerAvailable in: Excel 2007+

In this article
  1. Syntax
  2. Examples
  3. Example 1
  4. Example 2
  5. Example 3
  6. Common errors and fixes
  7. TEXT in practice
  8. Where you will use it
  9. Worked example
  10. Mistakes people make
  11. Related functions
  12. Continue learning

TEXT converts a number or date into text using a format code — needed when you join values into labels.

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Syntax

=TEXT(value, format_text)
Argument What it means
value Number or date.
format_text A format code in quotes, e.g. “dd-mmm-yyyy”.

Examples

Example 1

=TEXT(A2, "dddd")

Day name: Monday.

Example 2

="Sales for "&TEXT(A2, "mmmm yyyy")

Sales for March 2019.

Example 3

=TEXT(B2, "#,##0")

Thousands separators.

Common errors and fixes

You see Why, and the fix
Result will not add up TEXT returns text, not a number. Keep the original value for calculations.

TEXT in practice

Where you will use it

  • Dates in sentences and labels
  • Leading zeros in codes
  • Indian lakh formatting for labels

Worked example

ValueFormatFormulaResult
04-Oct-2026dd-mmm-yyyy=TEXT(A2,B2)04-Oct-2026
4200000=TEXT(A3,B3)00042
0.18340.0%=TEXT(A4,B4)18.3%

Results calculated in Excel.

Mistakes people make

MistakeWhat to do instead
Using TEXT in columns you need to totalResult is text; format cells instead
Locale-dependent separatorsTest #,##0 on the reader's settings

CONCAT · DATE · VALUE

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All Text guides →
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📎 Practice files for this article

⬇ Download all 2 files (ZIP · 38 KB)

  • 📗
    Text-cleaning scenarios workbookExtract and clean text (GSTIN, PAN, emails, names) with PASS/FAIL checks, plus the 3 mistakes that break text formulas.
    ⬇ XLSX · 8 KB
  • 📗
    Practice workbook: Text & cleaning24 tasks on realistic sales data — type your formula, the Check column turns green when it is right. Answers sheet included.
    ⬇ XLSX · 35 KB

Free to use for learning. Files with macros (.bas) are plain text — import them with Alt+F11 → File → Import File, and always test on a copy.

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