Numbers Separated by Dashes or Hyphens import to Excel as Dates or Arbitrary Large Numbers

Component: Web and Excel

Symptom(s): Values that are separated by a dash/hyphen in Web are parsed as dates by Excel and will appear as dates or arbitrary, large numbers. Numbers that cannot be dates, like 16-20, will not encounter this issue.

Example: You enter 12-24 in the Ceiling Height field of a comparable in Web. You bring the comparable into your Sales Grid in Excel and the Ceiling Height displays as a date or an extremely high arbitrary number.

Typical Cause: Values are separated by a hyphen or dash. 

Time required to fix: <10 seconds

Solution: Use an en-dash, rather than a dash or hyphen. If you use an en-dash instead of a regular dash/hyphen, Excel distinguishes it from a regular dash, and infers the number must not be a date. There are two ways to create an en-dash. 

Solution One: Hold ALT and hit 0150 on the keypad, then release ALT. The en-dash will appear when you release the ALT key. 

Solution Two: Simply copy and paste an en-dash from another source. For your convenience, you can copy it from here: –