Converting from Text to Number

"How do I convert Numbers formatted as Text into Numbers?" Many times numbers will be formatted as text when there is an apostrophe in front. i.e. '50001. Though Excel is kind enough to place a green flag warning the user and giving the user the option to convert to numbers. This method might seem cumbersome if dealing with a large data set. An easy solution will be to 'tickle' the data. Simply, highlight your data or column then go to Data > Text to Columns and simply press on Finish on the first screen. As seem from the illustrations below numbers should now appear as numbers.