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3 methods to remove negative sign from numbers in Excel

Author: Xiaoyang Last Modified: 2025-04-10

In Excel, removing negative signs from numbers can be crucial when preparing data for reports, financial statements, or data analysis where absolute values are needed or negative values are not applicable. This guide will explore three efficient methods to remove negative signs from numbers in Excel, helping you clean and standardize your numerical data for better presentation and analysis.

A screenshot showing a data set with negative numbers in Excel with their negative sign removed

Remove negative sign from numbers with ABS function

The ABS function in Excel provides a straightforward way to convert all negative numbers to positive by returning the absolute value of a number, which is the number without its sign. This section will demonstrate how to apply this function to remove negative sign from numbers.

  1. Enter the following formula into a blank cell and press "Enter". If the cell contains a negative value, the negative sign will be removed immediately.
    =ABS(A1)
    A screenshot showing the ABS formula applied to remove negative signs in Excel
  2. Select the cell containing the formula, then drag the fill handle across the desired range to apply the formula to adjacent cells. This action will remove the negative signs from all negative numbers in the selected cells, as shown in the screenshot:
    A screenshot showing the results of using the ABS function in Excel to remove negative signs
Note: The cells now contain formulas. If you need to use these values elsewhere without formulas, copy the cells and paste them as values into the desired location.

Several clicks to remove negative sign from numbers with Kutools

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After installing Kutools for Excel, select "Kutools" > "Content" > "Change Sign of Values".

Select the range of cells where you want to remove negative signs, select the "Change all negative values to positive" option in the "Change Sign of Values" dialog box, and finally click "OK".

A screenshot showing the Change Sign of Values dialog

Then all negative numbers in the selected range are changed to positive numbers at once.

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Remove negative sign from numbers with Find and Replace command

In Excel, "Find and Replace" command also can help you to find the negative sign in a range and replace it with nothing and thus the number will become positive.

  1. Select the range that you want to remove the negative sign.
  2. Click "Home" > "Find & Select" > "Replace".
    A screenshot showing the Find & Select option in the Home tab of Excel
  3. In the "Find and Replace" dialog, under the "Replace" tab, type the negative sign – into the "Find what" text box, and type nothing to leave the "Replace with" text box blank.
    A screenshot of the Find and Replace dialog in Excel to remove negative signs
  4. Click the "Replace All" button. All negative signs will be removed, converting negative numbers to positive ones.
    A screenshot showing the results after removing negative signs using Find and Replace in Excel
  5. Then click "OK" and close the "Find and Replace" dialog box.

 
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