Change the data type

Data > Change Data Type

In This Topic

Enter the variables
Select the type

Enter the variables

In Variables, enter one or more columns to change. The columns must be of the same data type.

Select the type

From Choose type, select the data type to change to.

Automatic numeric

Minitab determines the number of decimal places to display, depending on the values in the column.

Fixed decimal

Numeric data that displays the numbers with a fixed number of decimal places. From Decimal places, select the number of decimal places to display.

Exponential

Numeric data that displays the numbers in exponential format. From Decimal places, select the number of decimal places to display before the E. For example, the number 3200 in exponential format is 3.20E+03 with two decimal places, or 3.2E+03 with one decimal place.

Currency

Numeric data that displays the numbers in a currency format. Do the following:

From Decimal places, select the number of decimal places to display.
From Symbol, select the currency symbol.
From Negative numbers, select the format to use for negative currency values.

Percentage

Numeric data that displays the numbers in a percentage format. From Decimal places, select the number of decimal places to display.

Date

Date/time data that displays the date. Select a format from the list, or enter a custom format. For more information go to Date/time formats that Minitab recognizes, or Defining custom date/time display formats.

Time

Date/time data that displays the time. Select a format from the list, or enter a custom format. For more information go to Date/time formats that Minitab recognizes, or Defining custom date/time display formats.

Elapsed time

Date/time data that displays elapsed time. Select a format from the list, or enter a custom format. For more information go to Date/time formats that Minitab recognizes, or Defining custom date/time display formats.

Text

Text data.