Switching Column Letters to Numbers in Excel

I was using a spreadsheet package earlier (hang on, this isn’t the BBC, I was using Microsoft Office Excel, other packages are available) and I wanted to find a specific column number. Not knowing off hand what the 100th letter of the alphabet is (it’s CV), I wanted to change the Excel column labelling from letters to numbers.

The following method is for Microsoft Office Excel 2007, but a similar method will work on other versions (scroll to the bottom for the Office 2003 instructions):

Open ‘Excel Options’ (in Office 2010 it is under File -> Options):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then go to the ‘Formulas’ tab and select ‘R1C1 reference style’:

For Office 2003:

Go to Tools -> Options.

Then click on the ‘General’ tab and finally ‘R1C1 Reference Style’.