Removing Excel cell formats in bulk

I wanted to re-use some AutoCAD Architecture schedule data in a spreadsheet but struck a problem with the output.

It’s just a Right Click >  Export to get a proper .xls file from an ACA Schedule (better than Revit can do) but the result was a little too smart for my intended use. The export faithfully reproduces the schedule cell format which included % symbols & values in cells formatted as text.

Changing that for a cell is simple and Excel even helps, right, but that is a per cell fix and I had hundreds. The answer turns out to be surprisingly simple and takes little more than a copy/paste.

Row 1 shows text, currency, percentage and comma defined format cells.

Select & copy any blank cell. Select all the cells you want to fix, Paste Special and choose the Operation > Add option. You are adding nothing but this also strips any formatting from the cell.

Row 5 shows the result with all the cell number formatting removed.