Explanation

In this example, the goal is to convert the Celsius temperatures shown in column B to Fahrenheit temperatures in column C. The solution shown in the worksheet above relies on the CONVERT function, which can convert a number in one measurement system to another. CONVERT is fully automatic and based on “from” and “to” unit strings. As long as the units valid options in the same category (weight, distance, temperature, etc.), CONVERT will automatically perform a conversion and return a numeric result.

Celsius to Fahrenheit

To convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit, use a “C” for Celsius and an “F” for Fahrenheit like this:

=CONVERT(B5,"C","F")

Note: unit strings are case-sensitive. Both the “C” and “F” must be uppercase.

Handling empty cells

If a cell in column B is empty, the CONVERT function will interpret the value as zero and return 32. To prevent this from happening, you can adjust the formula to test for a value first like this:

=IF(B5<>"",CONVERT(B5,"C","F"),"")

Here, the IF function is used to check if cell B5 is not empty. If so, the original CONVERT formula is run. If the cell is empty, IF returns an empty string ("") as a result, which looks like a blank cell in Excel. As an alternative, you can use the NOT and ISBLANK functions together like so:

=IF(NOT(ISBLANK(B5)),CONVERT(B5,"C","F"),"")

The result from this formula is exactly the same.

Fahrenheit to Celsius

To convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius, the formula would be:

=CONVERT(B5,"F","C")

Other conversions

You can use CONVERT to convert weight, distance, time, pressure, force, energy, power, magnetism, temperature, liquid, and volume. Unit strings must be valid and in the proper case. This page shows available options in each category .

Explanation

The ABS function is fully automatic. All you need to do is supply a number and ABS will return the absolute value.

Convert negative numbers in place

If you only need to convert negative numbers once, you can convert in-place with Paste Special :

  1. Add -1 to a cell and copy to the clipboard
  2. Select the negative numbers you want to convert
  3. Use Paste Special > Values + Multiply

The video on this page shows this technique and many other paste special shortcuts.