How to Convert Measurements Easily in Microsoft Excel

We've all been in a situation where we need to convert one measurement to another. An objects mass was measured in ounces and not kilos, or the lumber you ordered was measured in metres instead of feet, or someone is planning a trip to the USA and wants to know the speed limits in mp/h when they're used to km/h. There are a multitude of jobs where this is a daily task, some of them where measurements must be exact. Well, there is an easier way. There is a function in Microsoft Excel called CONVERT that will convert from one measurement system to another and all you have to do is specify the number and the measurement systems!

Steps

1. Start Microsoft Excel
2. The CONVERT function is not installed by default. It is part of the Analysis Add-in tool pack. To install add-ins, Click on the Tools menu, and click on Add-ins.
   

   The Add-ins command
3. You will need to put in a checkmark beside Analysis Toolpak.
   

   The Analysis toolpak
4. Depending on how Microsoft Office was installed, you may be asked to provide the install CD.
5. The other add-ins are worth installing, most notably Solver, but they are beyond the scope of this article.
6. The CONVERT function is now installed. Let's test it by converting miles to kilometres
7. Type =CONVERT(60,"mi","km"). You should get a number around 100 (CONVERT returned 97, for the record).
8. A complete listing of measurement units that the CONVERT function supports is available from Microsoft Office Online