Format data

When data is first imported, every column is treated as text — even numbers, currencies, or dates. But for analysis to work correctly, columns must have the right type. For example, to compare transaction amounts or sort dates chronologically, you need to convert those columns into numbers or datetime format. This is similar to switching a column from “Text” to “Number” or “Date” in Excel.

Convert a column to numeric

Excel

In Excel, you change the format of a cell or column to "Number" using the toolbar.

t0 Prompt

Convert the "Amount" column to a number

Change transaction amount to numeric

Code

The python code looks as follows:

transactions["Amount"] = pd.to_numeric(transactions["Amount"])
transactions

Convert a column to dates

Excel

In Excel, you can change the format of a cell to "Date" so it sorts correctly or works in formulas.

t0 Prompt

Format the date column to date

Convert the text dates to real dates

Code

The python code looks as follows:

transactions["Date"] = pd.to_datetime(transactions["Date"])
transactions

Convert a column to text

Excel

In Excel, you might apply the “Text” format to force values to stay as-is, like codes or categories.

t0 Prompt

Convert seller column to text

Change format of buyer to text

Code

The python code looks as follows:

transactions["Seller"] = transactions["Seller"].astype(str)
transactions