excel worksheet will not accept zeroes preceeding a 5 digit number?

You have several options

1. Change the format to text

(Format - Cell - Number - Text)

2. If it is always a 8 digit number , again go to Format

Cell - Number - Custom & type 00000000

3. Enter the figure with a leading apostrophe (')

Eg '00000333

4. If you import a text file, select the type "text" for that column

I believe your problem is in the specific cell format - right click the cell, and depending on your version of excell it may be something different, but it should be something like "Format" or "AutoFormat." There will be a selection for what you put in it on the left hand side, such as currency or numbers or integers.

After you click the appropriate one there should be information about it on the right side and you can tweak how it formats it. tell it to include the x number of zeros. This is also where you tell it to include x number of zeros after the decimal point.

I believe this is how it is done, although I could be wrong as I switched to OpenOffice.org.

Oh yeah, and, no I don't think so (for the last part).

Before you add your data to the column, you need first format that column with the "text" format option.

That will keep all your leading zeroes.

Excel thinks anything that looks like a number *is* a number, and automatically formats it as such, unless you tell the program --- before you enter the first data --- that it will be of a different format.

Format

Cells

Select "Custom". Hit OK.

In the box at the top enter 00000000

that's 8 zeros to show you want 8 digits regardless of how many are actually in the number.