Microsoft fixes the Excel function that was wrecking scientific knowledge

In 2020, scientists determined simply to remodel the alphanumeric symbols they used to signify genes relatively than attempt to cope with an Excel function that was decoding their names as dates and (un)helpfully reformatting them robotically. Yesterday, a member of the Excel group posted that the corporate is rolling out an replace on Home windows and macOS to repair that.

Excel’s automated conversions are meant to make it simpler and quicker to enter sure forms of generally entered knowledge — numbers and dates, for example. However for scientists utilizing fast shorthand to make issues legible, it may wreck printed, peer-reviewed knowledge, as a 2016 research discovered.

Microsoft detailed the replace in a weblog publish this week, including a checkbox labeled “Convert steady letters and numbers to a date.” You may most likely guess what that toggles. The replace builds on the Computerized Information Conversions settings the corporate added final yr, which included the choice for Excel to warn you when it’s about to get additional useful and allow you to load your file with out automated conversion so you’ll be able to guarantee nothing can be screwed up by it.

The up to date Excel settings. Picture: Microsoft

Microsoft’s weblog provides caveats, akin to that Excel avoids the conversion by saving the info as textual content, which implies the info might not work for calculations later. There’s additionally a recognized difficulty the place you’ll be able to’t disable the conversions when working macros.