Microsoft Excel finally lets you disable aggressive auto
An Excel autocorrect feature that has driven geneticists crazy for years has finally been rectified.
Even if you're not a scientist studying genentics, you've surely come across this issue. When entering data into Microsoft Excel, the spreadsheet will sometimes interpret alphanumeric formulas as dates and automatically format it as such. Genes symbols often have names that are incorrectly assumed to be dates, such as SEPT2 or MARCH1, which have created a headache for scientists just trying to input their data. So much so that a 2016 study found one-fifth of research papers using data compiled in Excel to be incorrect or corrupted. It got to the point that scientists actually began renaming genes to avoid the infuriating auto-conversion.
SEE ALSO:Microsoft AI can take meetings for you nowNow, Microsoft finally has a fix. In an announcement last week, the Microsoft 365 team released a setting that enables Excels users to change the overly helpful default behavior.
How to turn off Automatic Data Conversion
To turn off this setting in Excel, go to File > Options > Data, then scroll down to Automatic Data Conversion. Then uncheck the setting that says "Enable all default data conversions below when entering, pasting, or loading text into Excel." There are also sub-settings to disable the removal of leading zeros, truncating numerical digits to a certain format, and the auto conversion of numerical data around the letter "E," as well as the aforementioned auto-conversion of continuous letters and numbers into a date.
Finallyyyyy.Credit: MicrosoftAdditionally, there's an option to notify the user of any auto-conversions when importing a .csv file into Excel. However, Microsoft said in the announcement, there are a few exceptions. Excel saves the data as text, meaning it might not work for mathematical calculations. Also, there's a known issue that doesn't support the disabling of auto-conversions when running macros.
That said, it's a long overdue setting that's sure to make geneticists happy and hopefully prevent future errors and naming predicaments.
-
AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 may get revealed at the Apple September eventWhat should you buy on Black Friday? Here's what we want to see on sale.4 people sign up to live in a locked bunker for 200 days to experience space travelGet the iRobot Roomba i4 EVO robot vacuum for 48% off at AmazonTesla considers adding a new ‘stuck detection' feature to Cybertruck. Here’s why.The deepfake apocalypse never came. But cheapfakes are everywhere.The 10 best books of 2023, according to BookTokBest cordless vacuum deal: slash $115 off the Shark Pet cordless vacuum as a Target Circle member两个改造提升项目进入收尾阶段AT&T miraculously avoids choking on its own bullsh*t in net neutrality pledge
下一篇:PS5 Pro: It looks like a sketch of the design just leaked
- ·7 Reasons to Explore Boston’s Lesser
- ·Get the iRobot Roomba i4 EVO robot vacuum for 48% off at Amazon
- ·N. Korean newspaper slams Japan for export curbs on S. Korea
- ·The AI Seinfeld show loop broke but it's still alive
- ·The Weird, Wonderful World of Water Towers
- ·Swiatek, Gauff through in Madrid Open as Osaka falls
- ·Moon hopes to meet Kim Jong
- ·Dyson Hot+Cool air purifier deal: $200 off at Amazon
- ·11 Telescopes Exploring The Magic of Space
- ·All the best mattress deals of Cyber Monday 2023
- ·Slot 'confident' of Liverpool job as negotiations take place
- ·Porn viewers skyrocket during work hours, study finds
- ·Apple Intelligence is now a little easier to get outside the U.S.
- ·The deepfake apocalypse never came. But cheapfakes are everywhere.
- ·Moon, Trump discuss N. Korea ahead of DMZ event
- ·'Overwatch' will have in
- ·I used the Pixel 9 Pro XL in the shower — does the screen work when wet as claimed?
- ·专家观点:蚊香之毒猛于香烟?说法有些夸张
- ·先进廉政文化在山乡升腾
- ·Chevy Bolt EV's back seat fires prompt federal investigation
- ·I Deleted All My Social Accounts: Three Weeks Without Social Media
- ·Swiatek, Gauff through in Madrid Open as Osaka falls
- ·The 10 best books of 2023, according to BookTok
- ·How to watch Apple's iPhone 12 event
- ·US Open 2024 livestream: How to watch US Open tennis for free
- ·2024南国书香节将于8月16到20日举行
- ·21 College and University Museums
- ·魅力雅女选拔赛9日开赛 评委支招从容迎战
- ·Best cordless vacuum deal: slash $115 off the Shark Pet cordless vacuum as a Target Circle member
- ·Moon, Trump discuss N. Korea ahead of DMZ event
- ·Pragmocracy Now
- ·The best early Cyber Monday deals on air purifiers: Shark, Dyson, Blueair, and more
- ·An iPhone 8 without a fingerprint sensor wouldn't make any sense
- ·专家观点:蚊香之毒猛于香烟?说法有些夸张
- ·Michael Cohen fights Donald Trump at the Supreme Court.
- ·North Korean rockettes serve up Coca