Text with a dash in the cell but not in the formula bar Excel

0 votes

In cell E1 it says You-Gov but in the formula bar, it says YouGov. If I copy/paste values it stays the same, the formatting is General. Using =CODE(MID($E$1,4,1)) I get a value of 173. Any idea what is happening?

Nov 13, 2022 in Others by Kithuzzz
• 38,010 points
1,715 views

1 answer to this question.

0 votes

What you have got here is called the "Soft Hyphen". It's purpose is to let the system know where a word may be broken, if needed, for display purposes.

"The HTML standard states that a hyphen character should be displayed at the end of the line where the break occurs if a line is broken at a soft hyphen. On the other hand, nothing is displayed if the line is not broken at a soft hyphen."

And Excel is actually displaying that. The Soft Hyphen will only be displayed in the formula bar when the term it is used in is really broken in the editor itself, despite the fact that it may appear in-cell. Try to cram Excel and its formula bar into a very small pane to test this out. The Soft Hyphen will intermittently emerge depending on whether it is required to be revealed. It's kind of ironic that MS even brought up the Soft Hyphen in their documentation, yet for the same reason, it won't appear in the matrix.

To solve your issue:

  • Press Ctrl+F
  • Select 'Replace'
  • Search for: Hold Alt and type 0173 on the Numpad.
  • Replace with: - A normal hyphen.

Here is a fun little demonstration from here full of "shy" hyphens. Resize the window to make them visible one by one.

answered Nov 13, 2022 by narikkadan
• 63,420 points

Related Questions In Others

0 votes
0 answers

What is the formula to keep first two words in a cell over excel?

I want to maintain the first two ...READ MORE

Nov 2, 2022 in Others by Kithuzzz
• 38,010 points
207 views
0 votes
1 answer

How do I combine the first character of a cell with another cell in Excel?

Try this: =CONCATENATE(LEFT(A1,1), B1) READ MORE

answered Nov 7, 2022 in Others by narikkadan
• 63,420 points
899 views
0 votes
1 answer

MS Excel showing the formula in a cell instead of the resulting value

Make sure that... There's an = sign before the formula There's ...READ MORE

answered Nov 8, 2022 in Others by narikkadan
• 63,420 points
531 views
0 votes
1 answer

Hiding the formula bar in Excel for a specific file

No, you cannot. Unfortunately, altering the CustomUI file ...READ MORE

answered Dec 17, 2022 in Others by narikkadan
• 63,420 points
399 views
0 votes
1 answer

Retrieve epay.info Balance with VBA and Excel

This code should log you in, provided ...READ MORE

answered Sep 5, 2018 in Blockchain by digger
• 26,740 points
876 views
0 votes
1 answer

ImportError: openpyxl is required for loading excel format files

Forget the PsychoPy complications for the time ...READ MORE

answered Oct 3, 2018 in Python by Priyaj
• 58,090 points
813 views
0 votes
1 answer

In Blue Prism how to split excel column data into TWO columns

This is how I am doing it. Dim ...READ MORE

answered Oct 15, 2018 in RPA by Priyaj
• 58,090 points
4,063 views
0 votes
1 answer

Excel Power Query: Using List.MatchAny on a column value

try this. let TableA = ...READ MORE

answered Oct 22, 2018 in Power BI by Annie97
• 2,160 points
3,789 views
0 votes
1 answer

Excel formula for searching two text in one cell and return values based on the result

You can include a second IF within ...READ MORE

answered Oct 10, 2022 in Others by narikkadan
• 63,420 points
955 views
0 votes
1 answer

Excel VBA : HOW TO PRINT THE TEXT IN A CELL (like Wrap Text)

Use a LineFeed character to create a ...READ MORE

answered Oct 27, 2022 in Others by narikkadan
• 63,420 points
735 views
webinar REGISTER FOR FREE WEBINAR X
REGISTER NOW
webinar_success Thank you for registering Join Edureka Meetup community for 100+ Free Webinars each month JOIN MEETUP GROUP