How do I enter numbers starting with zero (0) into Microsoft Excel cells?

For example, if I try to enter 0123 into a cell, when I leave that cell it automatically changes to 123. How do I get the zero (0) to stay in the beginning?How do I enter numbers starting with zero (0) into Microsoft Excel cells?
If you don't mind the number being treated as a text value, you can just change the cell format to text or enter the number with an apostrophe before it, as others have suggested. However, if you still want the cell to be treated as a number, you have to change the number format to display the leading zero. Here's how:





1. Select the cell, go to the Format menu, and select ';Cells'; (or right-click on the cell itself and select ';Format Cells'; from the pop-up menu).





2. On the ';Number'; tab, select ';Custom'; from the ';Category'; box on the left and, in the text box right below where it says ';Type'; on the right, type the following: 0000 This will give you a four-digit number, with leading zeros if necessary. If you enter a number that is more than four digits into the cell, it will still show all of the digits. To add or delete some of the leading zeros, just change the number of zeros in the ';Type'; box to match the number of digits. Click ';OK';.





3. If you want other types of formats, like decimal places or commas between the thousands places or red formatting for negative numbers, I'd suggest that you search the Help for ';custom number formats'; and look for the topic ';Create or Delete a Custom Number Format';. Although ';help'; in Microsoft products is often no help at all, this particular topic does give some pretty good and helpful information about how to use custom number formats - it can be a very powerful tool!





Note that these instructions are for Excel 2003 - I'm sure the steps for 2007 are similar, but the specific commands might be a bit different. I hope this helps!How do I enter numbers starting with zero (0) into Microsoft Excel cells?
Change the format to text (right click), but they won't be considered numbers anymore.
If you right click on the cell and choose Format Cells and under the Number Tab choose Text.
format the cell
Simple!!





put '0123 and the zero will show on the spreadsheet :)