Final answer:
To remove the last 5 digits from numbers in Excel, use the formula =LEFT(A1, LEN(A1) - 5), where A1 is the cell containing the number. The LEFT and LEN functions treat the number as text and allow you to manipulate it by trimming characters from the end.
Step-by-step explanation:
To remove the last 5 digits from a number in an Excel cell, you can use a formula based on the LEFT and LEN functions. This operation treats the number as a string of text, allowing you to manipulate it like text data.
Assuming the number is in cell A1, the formula to use would be:
=LEFT(A1, LEN(A1) - 5)
This formula calculates the length of the number as text with the LEN function and then uses the LEFT function to return all characters from the left side of the string, minus the last 5 characters. Please note that if your data includes decimal points or commas within the numbers, these are also counted as characters.
If you need to perform this operation on a range of cells, you can copy this formula down the column, and Excel will adjust the formula for each cell reference accordingly.