Excel gets setting to fix autocorrect mess with genetic data

[Jan]

Microsoft adds Excel setting to fix scientific data mess-up

Microsoft has added a new setting to Excel, which addresses a years-long automatic reformatting problem that could ruin scientific data.

In a Microsoft 365 blog post on 19 October 2023, Excel team product manager Chirag Fifadra revealed the Automatic Data Conversion settings the company had been testing since last year were now broadly available in Excel for Windows and MacOS.

 

[Skerminkel]

So for how many years did these scientists sit with the issue until they realised no one is forced to use Excel if it is not working properly?

 

[lkpat]

So for how many years did these scientists sit with the issue until they realised no one is forced to use Excel if it is not working properly?

Err... I think they knew Excel wasn't the tool to use, hence MS jumping in to fix the issue.

 

[Petec]

Well done asshats.
You have been bleeding users to Google Sheets, for YEARS, because of these incredibly annoying stupidities.

 

[jgegroups]

Text to columns tested - Int64 handled correctly now, formats to text. Date/time string still defaults to datetime format, they should make that optional as well.

 

[Progenix Oj101]