How to Convert 1/0 to Yes/No in Excel: 6 Easy Ways

Are you looking for quick and effortless ways to convert 1 to Yes and 0 to No in Excel? You’ve come to the right place! Keep reading to find the proven methods to transform 1/0 to Yes/No in Excel.

Microsoft Excel doesn’t just let you analyze data. It also gives you the tools and platforms to convert those analyzed data into visual insights that help you make informed decisions. During the course of data analysis in Excel, you can face instances where you get numerical values after running a script or formula.

Such numerical values could help you tell a story with data by converting them to meaningful texts. The most common example is changing 1s and 0s to yesses and nos in Excel. Keep reading to learn the methods and their steps in plain English.

Reasons to Convert 1/0 to Yes/No in Excel

Find below why you might want to consider learning this basic Excel skill:

1. You can heavily improve the interpretability and readability of the presented data by learning this Excel hack.
2. The audience loves to see texts and images instead of numbers in report presentations.
3. This trick helps you to align your data with common linguistic conventions. Also, enhances data compatibility with other systems, reports, or analyses that involve human interpretation.
4. Functions, formulas, and statistical operations involving binary data become more intuitive and easier to implement when working with textual representations.
5. If you utilize data validation techniques in Excel, converting to “Yes” and “No” simplifies the process.

Now that you’re aware of when and why you might need to change 1s and 0s to yeses and nos in Excel, it’s time to explore the methods below that help you do so.

Also read: How To Convert True/False To Yes/No In Excel

1. Convert 1/0 to Yes/No in Excel Using the IF Function

IF is the most basic function that lets you transform 1s and 0s to yesses and nos in Excel. Here’s how you can accomplish this on your own:

1. Suppose, the 1s and 0s are in column A. Enter the following formula in an empty column (e.g., column B) next to the first cell with the 1/0 value:

=IF(A1=1,"Yes","No")

2. Drag the fill handle of the first cell, where you pasted the above formula, down to copy the formula to the remaining cells in column B.
3. Excel will analyze the input formula and adjust the cell references for other cells in column B.
4. Column B will now display “Yes” for cells with a value of 1 in column A, and “No” for cells with a value of 0.

5. If you don’t need the binary 1/0 values anymore, copy the corresponding yesses and nos under column B and paste it as a value over column A.

2. Use the Find and Replace Tool

Looking for an easier but manual process to transform 1s and 0s to yesses and nos in Excel? You must try the Find and Replace tool. Here’s how it works:

1. Select the entire column of binary data like 1s and 0s.
2. Now, hit the Ctrl + F keys altogether to open the Find and Replace tool.
3. Click the Replace tab.
4. There, into the Find what: box, type 1.
5. Type “Yes” (without the inverted commas) into the Replace with: field.
6. Click the Replace All button and you should see the following pop-up:
   • All done. We made 5 replacements.

Now, replace the same process from step 1 until step 6. But this time, type 0 in the Find what: box and type No in the Replace with: box. Click Replace All. Finally, you’ve converted all 1s and 0s to yesses and nos.

3. Use the IF and IFERROR Functions

Find below the simple steps to combine the IF and IFERROR functions to turn 1s to yesses and 0s to nos in Excel:

1. Create a new column (column B) for Yes and No values on the right side of the column of 1s and 0s.
2. Let’s consider, the binary data are in between the cell range A2:A9. Then, copy and paste the following formula into the B2 cell:

=IF(A2=1,"Yes",IFERROR(IF(A2=0,"No"),""))

3. Modify the cell references in the above formula according to your Excel worksheet, if needed.
4. Hit Enter to convert 1/0 to Yes/No in Excel.
5. Drag the fill handle and copy the same formula across the cell under column B to transform the rest of the binary values.

4. Use Conditional Formatting

Conditional Formatting is another graphical user interface (GUI) based method that you can use to change 1s and 0s to yesses and nos in Excel. Here’s how you can accomplish this:

1. Select the range of cells containing the 1s and 0s.
2. Go to the Home tab in the Excel ribbon.
3. Click on the Conditional Formatting command and choose New Rule.

4. In the New Formatting Rule dialog box, select the Format only cells that contain rule.
5. Now, in the first drop-down menu, choose Cell Value.
6. Similarly, in the second drop-down menu, choose equal to.
7. Type 1 into the adjacent field as shown in the above image.

8. Click on the Format button and go to the Number tab, and select Custom.
9. In the Type field, enter “Yes” (with the quotes).
10. Click OK to close the Format Cells dialog box.

Now, select the same cell ranges and follow steps 2 to 10. But this time, type 0 for the Equal to option and type “No” in Format Cells > Number > Custom > Type field.

5. Using a Custom Number Format

Custom Number is another quick and easy way to convert 1/0 to Yes/No in an Excel spreadsheet. Here, you just need to select the cell range and apply a custom formatting to transform the binary values. Here’s how it’s done:

1. Select the range of cells containing the 1s and 0s.
2. Right-click on the selected cell range and choose Format Cells from the context menu.

3. In the Format Cells dialog box, you must select the Number tab.
4. While on the Number tab, inside the Category list, choose the Custom number formation category.
5. In the Type field, enter the following custom number format:

"Yes";"Yes";"No"

6. Click OK to apply the custom number format.

The 1s and 0s will now appear as yesses and nos in the selected cell range on your Excel worksheet. Don’t forget to enter the above formula including the quotes.

6. Try This VBA Script to Convert 1s and Os to Yesses and Nos

If you need to use a VBA script to automate this task along with other data visualization and analytics tasks on your Excel worksheet, I got you covered. Use the following VBA script to convert 1/0 to Yes/No in Excel:

1. Hit the Alt + F11 keys altogether to open the VBA Editor on your Excel worksheet.
2. Go to the VBA Editor toolbar on the top and click on Insert.
3. Now, you should see a context menu. There, hit the Module button.
4. On the VBA Editor backstage (the grey screen) a new Module will show up.
5. There, copy and paste the following VBA code:

Sub ConvertOneZeroToYesNo()
    Dim rng As Range
    Dim cell As Range
    
    ' Set the range where the conversion should take place
    Set rng = Range("A1:A9") ' Modify the range as needed
    
    ' Loop through each cell in the range
    For Each cell In rng
        ' Check if the cell value is 1 or 0
        If cell.Value = 1 Then
            cell.Value = "Yes" ' Convert 1 to "Yes"
        ElseIf cell.Value = 0 Then
            cell.Value = "No" ' Convert 0 to "No"
        End If
    Next cell
End Sub

6. In the above code, Excel will apply the action only between the A1:A9 cell range. If your data is in a different cell range, edit the Range("A1:A9") code element with the actual cell range.
7. Click the Save button on the toolbar. Excel may show a pop-up notification to save the file as a Macro-enabled workbook. Click OK on that pop-up.
8. Close the VBA Editor.

9. Hit Alt + F8 to open the Macro dialog box and select the ConvertOneZeroToYesNo macro.
10. Click the Run button to convert the binary data in the selected range to Yes and No texts.

Conclusions

Now you know how to convert 1/0 to Yes/No in Excel. The article explains different methods for conversion for different use cases. For example, you can use the Excel formulas like IF, IFERROR, etc., if you prefer experimenting with formulas in Excel.

On the contrary, if you like graphical user interface-based methods where you just need to click a few buttons or drag a few elements, try out the Find and Replace tool.

Finally, if you’re an expert Excel user and looking for automation opportunities in this task, you should choose the Excel VBA method.