Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. 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: Converting Codes to Characters.
Computers store information internally using numeric values. The information we see on our screens, as characters, is nothing but a conversion of those numbers into the characters associated with those numbers. Excel includes a built-in worksheet function that allows you to convert numeric values into their associated characters, as follows:
=CHAR(A3)
This example function converts the numeric value at A3 to its corresponding character. The conversion is done using an extended ASCII character set. For instance, if A3 contained the value 65, then this function would return the capital letter A.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10425) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Converting Codes to Characters.
Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel 2013 Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!
Excel includes a handy function that allows you to repeat characters or strings of characters. How you use the REPT ...
Discover MoreThe PROPER worksheet function is used to change the case of text so that only the first letter of each word is uppercase. ...
Discover MoreNeed to know the column number for use in a formula? The worksheet function you want is the COLUMN function, described in ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2016-10-26 14:49:32
Willy Vanhaelen
@Robin
This formula will do if the numbers are always 3 digits:
=MID("XJVHMSCZBP",LEFT(A1,1)+1,1)
&MID("XJVHMSCZBP",MID(A1,2,1)+1,1)
&MID("XJVHMSCZBP",RIGHT(A1,1)+1,1)
If de numbers can have any number of digits you can only use a user defined function:
Function MyCode(R As Range)
Const S = "XJVHMSCZBP"
Dim X As Integer, Y As Integer
For X = 1 To Len(R)
Y = Mid(R, X, 1) + 1
MyCode = MyCode & Mid(S, Y, 1)
Next X
End Function
In either case if the numbers can start with one or more zeros you have to format those cells as text or start the entry with an apostrophe.
2016-10-25 11:55:41
Robin
What formula do I use in Excel to convert numbers into an alpha code, where 1=J, 2=V, 3=H, 4=M 5=S, 6=C, 7=Z, 8=B, 9=P and 0=X. For example, the number 152 would be JSV in my code.
2014-11-04 11:44:33
Glenn Case
Note that for VBA, the equivalent function is CHR()
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 © 2018 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. 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