How do I keep the leading zeros in a zip code in Microsoft Excel?

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Unless changed, Excel will treat the zip code field as a number and will strip away any leading 0's.

Answer:

If you have run an export from FIMS that you'd like to open in Excel that contains zip codes, follow these steps:

Make sure you make a note of where you are saving the export file and what you are calling it.
Open Excel and choose File > Open

It is important to open excel first and THEN open the file from within Excel because the Text Import Wizard will open.
FIMS exports are quote, comma delimited ascii files.
Typically the Import Wizard will already choose this option for you and the data in the preview screen at the bottom will already be in columns.
Step 2 in the wizard will allow you to set the field widths.
Excel uses the delimiter to figure out the columns.

3. Click Next.

Step 3 allows you to choose what format each column should be.
For most data, the General format will be fine. However, you can choose different formats if needed.
For example, click on a Date column to change the date format. If you have a Zip Code column, and any Zip Codes may start with zero, be sure to format that column as Text, otherwise Excel will remove the leading zero.

4. Click Finish.

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