I have a problem regarding an Excel file that has missing values that are indicated with an asterisk (*).
If I use search and replace in Excel, Excel thinks that there are asterisks (*) in all the cells. So, this is not the way to get rid of the asterisks (*). When I import the Excel file in Stata, Stata thinks that this variable is string. But it is not possible to destring the variable, because of the asterisk (*). I tried to encode the variable, and then the data becomes 'blue'. The asterisks (*) remain in the data. Stata knows the values (like mean, etc.), but cannot recognize the missing values.
Can somebody help me with the missing values that are indicated with an asterisk (*) ? How can I get rid of these asterisks (*) such that Stata knows that these asterisks (*) are missing values?

Thanks in advance.