Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Allowing for Words that Contain Numbers.

Allowing for Words that Contain Numbers

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 3, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365

2

Have you ever noticed that one of the side effects of our fast-paced world is the creation of new words? It seems that every day—particularly in the technological or medical fields—that new words are bursting forth on the scene. Some of these words are actually composed of letters and numbers together. For instance, b2b is an acronym (word?) meaning business-to-business.

Normally such words would be flagged by Excel's spelling checker as being incorrect. If you create worksheets that contain quite a few words that are formed by mixing letters and numbers, you may want to instruct Excel to ignore them. You can do so by following these steps:

  1. Display the Excel Options dialog box. (In Excel 2007 click the Office button and then click Excel Options. In Excel 2010 or a later version, display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
  2. Click Proofing at the left side of the dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The Proofing options of the Excel Options dialog box.

  3. Make sure the Ignore Words that Contain Numbers check box is selected.
  4. Click on OK.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6213) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Allowing for Words that Contain Numbers.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Delivery Address Won't Print on Envelopes

Word includes a feature that allows you to easily create and print envelopes, based on the addresses you insert in your ...

Discover More

Easily Changing the Default Drive and Directory

Need a quick way to change the default drive and directory in a macro you are writing? Here's the commands to do it and a ...

Discover More

Double-Clicking to Widen Columns Won't Work

One way you can widen the columns in a worksheet to fit whatever is in the column is by double-clicking the right edge of ...

Discover More

Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Adjusting Spell Check for Internet Addresses

When you check the spelling of worksheet data, you may want to spell checker to either ignore or check Internet addresses ...

Discover More

Setting Spell-Checking Options

The spell checker can come in handy when entering data in a worksheet. Because the type of data you enter can vary so ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is four less than 4?

2025-05-06 11:44:25

J. Woolley

The ListAutoCorrectOptions and ListAutoCorrections functions are described in my recent comment here: https://excelribbon.tips.net/T006257
They return the status of items displayed by clicking the AutoCorrect Options... button illustrated in the Tip's dialog box image.

2025-05-04 12:14:00

J. Woolley

The ListSpellingOptions function is described in my recent comment here: https://excelribbon.tips.net/T006201
It returns the status of spelling options illustrated in the Tip plus information about the default spelling dictionary.

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.