What it does
TEXT converts a value to formatted text.
Syntax or pattern
=TEXT(value, format_text)✅
5 practical examples
1
Format a date in a sentence
Display a date as month and year.
=TEXT(A2,"mmm yyyy")Useful for labels and report titles.
2
Format currency text
Show a number as currency text.
=TEXT(B2,"$#,##0")Remember the result is text, not a number.
3
Create month keys
Create yyyymm keys from dates.
=TEXT(A2,"yyyymm")Useful for matching monthly data.
4
Format percentages
Display a percent in a message.
=TEXT(B2,"0.0%")Great for summary labels.
5
Build report title
Combine text and formatted date.
="Sales report - "&TEXT(TODAY(),"mmmm d, yyyy")Dynamic report labels are easy with TEXT.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Not handling missing delimiters.
- Forgetting that some text functions return text, not numbers.
- Using fixed positions when the text layout is not consistent.
Related Excel examples
FAQ
Can text formulas work with Excel Tables?
Yes. Table references can make text-cleaning formulas easier to understand.