Excel Mac: Comma decimals not recognized as numbers

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Level 1

12 points

Excel Mac: Comma decimals not recognized as numbers

I'm having a problem with an Excel file on my Macbook, part of the Office 365 application. When I download it to my Mac, it interprets all the numbers as text. I successfully converted them to numbers, but then I encountered another problem with these numbers. I have to replace all the commas with periods for Excel to understand them as text. Is there a way for Excel on my Macbook to understand the numbers as numbers after converting commas to periods so I can perform calculations?

Posted on Jun 12, 2026 7:36 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

kaz-k

Level 9

52,688 points

Jun 12, 2026 2:07 PM in response to luatpham84

Hi,

When Excel on Mac fails to recognize numbers with comma decimals, it is usually because the app's internal number format settings conflict with the characters used in your text or operating system. To fix it immediately, you can adjust the decimal separator in Excel's preferences.

Method 1: Change Excel's Internal Settings (Recommended)

This is the fastest fix if you want Excel to strictly recognize numbers regardless of your Mac's global region settings.

With Excel open, click on Excel in the top menu bar and select Preferences.
Click on the Edit tab (or General in older versions).
Uncheck the box that says Use system separators.
Manually set the Decimal separator to a comma , and the Thousands separator to a dot . (or vice-versa, depending on your data).
Click OK and restart Exce

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Answer 2

luatpham84 Author

Level 1

12 points

Jun 15, 2026 7:14 AM in response to luatpham84

Hi Bro!

Thank you so much for your information. I tried to your instruction but could not successful for my Mac. It was absolutely right for Window.

I found new thing when I change your step 4 by: Manually set the Decimal separator to a dot , and the Thousands separator to a comma. You know, it ran ok.

Anyway thank you Bro

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