Exporting Zip Codes from Powerbase to Excel

If you export data with zip code fields and try to import that data into Excel or most any spread sheet program, you will have a problem if your zip code starts with a 0. Excel will think it is a number and simply remove the extraneous 0 from the beginning leaving you with an invalid 4 character zip code.

There are two ways to fix this problem:

1. Select the column of cells with zip codes, right click and select Format. Then select a numeric format, choose a custom format and in the "Type" field enter: 00000 (5 zeros). (See this video from Microsoft for help creating a custom numeric format.).
2. Select the column or block of zip codes. Go to the Number Format dropdown box (usually on the HOME tab). Select "More Number Formats"; Select "Special"; Select "Zip Code".

When displaying your data, any field with less then 5 numbers will have a 0 pre-pended.