FAQs & Troubleshooting

Fix Missing Leading Zeros in Excel

When you open a CSV file in Excel, phone and fax numbers beginning with 0 often lose that leading zero. Here’s how to prevent it.

Why It Happens

Excel automatically treats number-only fields as numeric values and strips leading zeros. A fax number like 0298765432 becomes 298765432, which will fail when WEL tries to dial it.

Option 1: Format Cells as Text Before Entering Data

1. Open a blank Excel workbook. Select the column(s) for phone or fax numbers.
2. Right-click the column header and choose Format Cells. Under Category, select Text and click OK.
3. Type or paste your numbers — leading zeros are now preserved.

Option 2: Use the Text Import Wizard (CSV files)

1. Open Excel first, then go to Data › Get Data › From Text/CSV (the exact menu varies by Excel version).
2. Browse to your CSV and click Import.
3. In the column format step, select the phone/fax column and set its type to Text.
4. Click Finish to import with leading zeros intact.

Option 3: Prefix with an Apostrophe

Type an apostrophe (') before the number in the cell: '0298765432. Excel treats the cell as text and the apostrophe is invisible in the spreadsheet view.