Convert text field to number

[JenB]

I have ArcInfo 10. I'm importing a number of Excel worksheets into ArcMap to convert to shapefiles- they all have the same fields. There is one field I need to be formatted as a number in order to create a Join with another table and perform arithmatic.  Everything is formatted the same in Excel, howerver, when I import the worksheets, for about 25% of them the field imports as a text field. I've been trying to work out how to convert this to a Double. It is really driving me crazy! Any solutions?  I feel like this should be a simple task...

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous User]

One thing you can do is import the table into a geodatabase using the Table to Table tool. With this tool you can use the field map section to reformat the types of fields that you have.  To do this, just right click on a field name and choose properties then use the drop down to change the field from text to double.  That should do the trick.

Caleb