Is it possible to return the exact plain text value of a cell reference, including the number format, instead of the underlying data?
For instance, if a cell's underlying value is 2000 and the number format setting formats it as $2,000, I'd like to pull that string ($2,000) into another cell as plain text (eventually for use in a concatenation). Currently, referencing that cell simply returns 2000, omitting the $ and ,.
Best Answer
This isn't possible in Google Sheets. You'd have to manually recreate the number format in your formula. Typically, you'd use the TEXT function, e.g.,
=TEXT(A2,"$#,#")-or-
="Cost: "&TEXT(A2,"$#,#")...etc.