Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 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: Returning an ANSI Value.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 9, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365
You may have a need to determine the ANSI value of the text in a particular cell. You can do this using the CODE worksheet function. This function returns a numeric value that represents the ANSI value of the first letter in the referenced cell. For instance, if cell A1 contains the text "My Stuff," and that B1 contains the following:
=CODE(A1)
In this instance, B1 will have a result of 77, which is the ANSI value of M, the first character in A1.
If the value in the referenced cell is numeric (such as 34 or 2798), then the CODE function treats the numeric value as if it were text and returns the ANSI value of the first digit in the value. Thus, if A1 contained 34, then CODE would return 51, which is the ANSI value of "3."
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (7012) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Returning an ANSI Value.
Dive Deep into Macros! Make Excel do things you thought were impossible, discover techniques you won't find anywhere else, and create powerful automated reports. Bill Jelen and Tracy Syrstad help you instantly visualize information to make it actionable. You’ll find step-by-step instructions, real-world case studies, and 50 workbooks packed with examples and solutions. Check out Microsoft Excel 2019 VBA and Macros today!
VLOOKUP is an oft-used worksheet function to lookup values in a data table. If the function cannot return a value, it ...
Discover MoreTwo common worksheet functions used to count things are COUNT and COUNTA. Not understanding how these functions treat ...
Discover MoreEver want the IF function to only return a value if the condition it is testing is true, and not if the condition is ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2023-09-09 10:10:54
J. Woolley
Re. ANSI, ASCII, and Unicode, see http://www.differencebetween.net/technology/web-applications/difference-between-ansi-and-ascii/
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.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 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:
Comments