Comments on: How to change date format in Excel and create custom formatting

The first part of our tutorial focuses of formatting dates in Excel and explains how to set the default date and time formats, how to change date format in Excel, how to create custom date formatting, and convert your dates to another locale. Continue reading →

Comments page 24. Total comments: 940

  1. I HAVE A EXCEL DATA FILE CONTAINING DATE IN FOLLOWING FORMATS

    4/1/2016 i.e. date/month/year how can i change it back to 1-4-2016

    1. Hello Salman,

      Just use the following format code to create a custom date format: m-d-yyyy

  2. Hi Svetlana,

    How to convert text (specifically, July 5th 2016) into a date? I tried using Datevalue function etc. I am looking for an answer for any text date where in dates are mentioned in "st", "th" and "nd" format. (e.g. July 5th 2016
    , June 1st 2016 and May 2nd 2016)

    Thanks

  3. I have a problem when I enable the date autoformat. When I key in 1/20 or 1-20, the excel autocorrects to 20-01-2016 as per my autoformat setting.
    The problem happens when I key 20/1 or 20-, the date is not autocorrected as a date..

    Please help. Thanks

    1. Hi Quek,

      To prevent this from happening, preface the fraction with a zero and a space. For example, instead of 20/1, type 0 20/1. Or, type a space or apostrophe before 1-20, like '1-20. The apostrophe won't be visible in cells, only in the formula bar.

  4. I have fields with dates displaying as 20-JAN-2016, for example. The format in the cell is actually 1/20/2014. (The number format of the cell is Custom). I would like to use the formula =MID to create a column to display the month (JAN) but since the format is slashes instead of dashes, it does not work. The fixes I see on this page don't actually change the format in the cell, only the display to dashes. Can you help?

  5. 7/18 - 8/5 in one cell

  6. Cheers !!! It really helped me out !!!!

    Keep it up !!!

  7. Hi,

    How can I change the format of the following dates
    07/01/2016 to 1st of July 2016
    07/02/2016 to 2nd of July 2016
    07/03/2016 to 3rd of July 2016
    07/04/2016 to 4th of July 2016
    and so on? Greatly appreciate your help on this.

  8. How do I change the date format that displays as: 10/30/2013 12:00:00 AM (it is now all in one cell)? I know how to do text to columns using space and / to separate but it doesn't seem to work. Ultimately I want only the YEAR in one column.

  9. Hi

    How do i change 02/01/2015 00:00:00 to date only?

    I tried text to columns but its not working

    Thanks

  10. Very good article.
    It helped me a lot to understand the error messages for some formula which includes date formates.
    Also, I refer this site for anything in connection with excel.
    Please continue to do this good work.
    All the very best.
    And, thank you very much.

  11. Can you tell me how to put the days of the week in order when making a chart?

    Issue
    have a list in SP. Created chart with field (day: which tell what day of week the a date fell on) I made the chart (chart: what days do people stay late at work the most - 180days.

  12. Date is 01-05-2016 i.e. 1 may,2016 but excel sheet is considering it 05/01/2016 i.e 5 Jan, 2016, how can i get my date?

  13. Hello,

    How do i change date from 6/6/2006
    to
    sixth june two thousand six

  14. when i typed like 01012016 means January 1 2016 the result is 46701020?

  15. Hello,

    I am currently updating my company's Excel files. I wanted to add the day's date in a cell if a project is marked completed. ive' used the following formula: =IF(ISTEXT(U:U), NOW(), ("")). it worked but I am facing a problem. the projects that were marked completed had the date in the cells next to them but the dates keep changing everyday. can you please help me with telling me the right formula to add an unchanging date using IF function?

    Thank you,
    Maan

    Reply

  16. Hello,
    How would you convert this date?

    06/6-7/2016

  17. Good afternoon Svetlana

    Is it possible to convert 01/01/16-31/12/16 in Excel to display as
    1 Jan 16-31 Dec 16 , please?

    Kind regards,

    Mark

  18. HELLO...I have a problem in my excel sheet.

    I have an SCADA system which generate and excel file with some values.

    But problem is that my excel file not showing the date& time format in sequential order that is from old to new order. There is not proper sequence.
    How to fix this problem permanently.

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  20. Please help .

    I had few dates in mm/dd/yy format n the new date entered is I. Ddmmyy format how can I make into stander format

  21. Dear Svetlana,

    How to convert this data in to a general numbers?

    15.64
    16.jan
    15.27
    13.76
    13.74
    13.36
    15.jan
    nov.41
    okt.31
    jul.79
    15.sep
    jun.81

    Thank you

  22. Dear Svetlana,

    I have downloaded Adwords report in Exel file and in column Average Position where should be the general number, I got a date (for exemple jan.1 instead of 1,1. My problem is that I don't know how to convert date in to a general number. The option formatting doesn't work as I got some number like this 42370... Please help.

    Thank you. Damjan

  23. Dear Madam,
    I entered the value 23.5.2015 or 23.5.15 in a cell but how to change the value to date format(23-05-15) easily.

    1. Dear all,
      With reference to the above question, I found the answer from your link (Find and replace formula . to /).
      Thanks to Svetlana Cheusheva

  24. Please help me, I am going crazy. In the following list of dates you will see two formats of dates, I want all of them to be arranged mm/dd/yyyy. When I try to format it doesn't work for some reason, here is a sample list:
    03-10-16
    02-11-16
    03-11-16
    03-11-16
    03/14/2016
    03/14/2016
    03/14/2016
    01/14/2016

  25. Hi,I have some numbers like "2-4" when I copy them to excel they appear like "4-Feb". I want the numbers keep their own format. Could you tell me how to convert?

    1. Hi Mehran,

      Try typing the numbers with a preceding apostrophe like '2-4.

  26. Hi Svetlana,

    Seems like you are the guru of Excel so here goes my question.
    I tried to add 7 days to my date format from a cell but it still comes us as #VALUE! For example my date was in A1 i typed =A1+7. No fixes around. Changed the whole worksheet's format to date as well but still does not work. Hope you can help.

    Thanks

    1. Hi Sam,

      It's a very simple, and correct, formula. You can test it on a new empty sheet and make sure it works fine. So, most likely the problem is with the source date in A1. An immediate reason that comes to mind is a date formatted as text. If it's the case, please try to convert it to date as explained in this tutorial:
      https://www.ablebits.com/office-addins-blog/excel-convert-text-date/

  27. I have doubt,can any one help me how to alter the date which is included in exisiting formulae.

  28. Its not working please give other formula or something else.

  29. We need to change format
    From to
    04-02-2016 02-04-2016
    04-02-2016 02-04-2016
    04-04-2016
    04-04-2016
    04-05-2016
    04-05-2016
    04-05-2016
    04-05-2016

    Please help me for the same

    1. Hello Binod,

      Select all the cells with your dates, press Ctrl+1, select 'Custom' under Categories, and type the following format in the Type box:
      dd-mm-yyyy

      Assuming that in "02-04-2016", 02 is the day and 04 is the month.

  30. Hi,
    In my country we show the date as yyyy/mm/dd or dd/mm/yyyy. My region is set correctly, but when I input a date such as 1 May, I insert 1/5. The cell automatically changes to 2016-01-05 (which looks like 5 January to me. My settings all appear to be correct.

    Any suggestions?

  31. HI,
    I HAVE THE FOLLOWING DATE FORMAT
    22.05.15
    REQUIRE IT TO BE CONVERTED TO
    05/22/2015

    CAN THIS BE DONE IN EXCEL?

  32. HI,
    HELP ME TO CONVERT THE FOLLOWING DATE FORMAT

    MY FILE HAS A DATE FORMAT AS 22.05.15
    I WANT TO CONVERT THIS AS 05/22/2015

  33. Simple question (I think), I need to display the date as a year and week number (2016-16 for example). I can manage to get the 'today' ok in date format and can get the week-number in a separate cell....how do I get the format I'm looking for, year-week number?

    Thanks

  34. Hello

    I need to set up a spreadsheet that when opened will put in the date. HOWEVER - it will be printed from 8pm-10pm and will need to be dated the next day's date. Please help.

  35. in my excel sheet i am trying to split month, day, year but there's an issue. some date are typed as mm/dd/yyyy format but some are in dd/mm/yyyy. in first case (mm/dd/yyyy) when i split it works well but those cells that are in dd/mm/yyyy format appear with error. i'll be thankful if someone can help me out.

    1. Hi waqas,

      You can try to split the values according to their formats using the CELL function. For example:

      =IF(CELL("format", A1)="D1";parse1;parse2)

  36. I have an Excel date that I need to be just the month & year. Although I can format it to mm/yy when the data is entered for example as 10/18 (Oct 2018) Excel changes takes it as to 10/18/16 and shows 10/16. How can I correct this?

    1. Hi Nicole,

      This is the default Excel behavior.
      Looks like you need a VBA script for this task. Sorry we can't help you with this.

  37. Madam,

    I am unable to change the said date 24-08-2016 to 24-08-16, i tried different methods as u said above..i went through cutom typing ddmmyy but still displays the same format, Pls help

    1. Hi sabari,

      Please try the following formula:

      =TEXT(DATE(INT(MID(A1,7,4)),INT(MID(A1,4,2)),INT(LEFT(A1,2))), "dd-mm-yy")

      Where the value "24-08-2016" is in A1.

  38. I have problem changing the format of date.When i am entering 20.03.2016 manually in a cell and substituating "." with "/" and than changing it to with VALUE funtion and then applying TEXT function to get the as 20-March-2016.
    I am not getting the solution.

    Please provide relevant solution for this.

  39. How would I change a format of 20160328/222241
    into something like: 8-July-15 8:54AM?

    thank you

    1. Hi JOY,

      Please try the following formula:

      =DATE(INT(LEFT(A1, 4)), INT(MID(A1, 5, 2)), INT(MID(A1, 7, 2))) + TIME(MID(A1, 10, 2), MID(A1, 12, 2), MID(A1, 15, 2))

      Where the value 20160328/222241 is in A1.

  40. Can anyone help me, Im having difficulties with formatting the date in excel to look the same on all columns, this is the data I have for example:
    01-Feb-16
    12/31/2015
    01-Apr-16
    12/29/2015
    12/30/2015
    12/30/2015
    04-Jan-16
    12-Jul-15
    12/23/2015
    01-Apr-16
    11/13/2015
    01-Apr-16
    04-Jan-16
    04-Jan-16
    04-Jan-16
    01-Apr-16
    12/15/2015
    11/25/2015
    12/14/2015
    12/30/2015
    12/29/2015
    01-Apr-16

    but I need all the columns to look (example) 20-05-15.

    I have tried several things but can not get them all to the same format.

    Please help.

    Thanks

    1. Hi Marika,

      Please select all the columns where you want to change the format. Then right click and select the "Format cells..." option. In the "Format Cells" dialog select the Number tab - Date category, choose the format you want and click OK.

  41. My query is regarding date format. is it possible? if i enter a single number in cell and it show particular date. For example like current month is february 2016.

    if i enter 1 then it show 02/01/2016(mm/dd/yyyy)
    if i enter 15 then it show 02/15/2016(mm/dd/yyyy)
    if i enter 23 then it show 02/23/2016(mm/dd/yyyy)

    I just want to enter only one digit and it show me date of this digit with current month.

    1. Hi Kaps,

      Please try the following formula:
      =DATE(YEAR(TODAY()), MONTH(TODAY()), A1)
      Where the day number is in A1.

  42. I have an excel 2013 sheet that has "format as a table" and the top row is headers with a drop down for sorting. A group of column headers are dates and they are formatted as such. However, some of the dates (formated as mm/dd/yy), are throwing an extra number on the end of the date. If I input 02/10/16, it insert 02/10/162 in the cell. How do I fix this? And the sample under Format Cells, Date, mm/dd/yy shows mm/dd/yyy.

    1. Hi Elizabeth,

      To help you better, we need a sample table with your data in Excel and the result you want to get. You can email it to support@ablebits.com. Please add the link to this article and your comment number.

  43. Does anyone know how to convert a date in the 20131001 format to a date format of 10/1/2013, or vice versa?

    Thanks.

    1. Hi Todd,

      Please try the following formulas:

      =DATE(INT(LEFT(A1, 4)), INT(MID(A1, 5, 2)), INT(MID(A1, 7, 2)))

      =YEAR(A1) & TEXT(MONTH(A1), "00") & TEXT(DAY(A1), "00")

  44. Hello everyone
    Does anyone knows how to convert a date in pivot table into a fortnight? For example, 2015-07-09 is the first fortnight and 2015-09-16 is the second fortnight.
    Many thanks to you all
    Pedro

  45. how to convert datetime to unix time?

    1. Hi santosh,

      Please try the following formula:
      =(A1-DATE(1970,1,1))*86400
      Where the converted datetime is in A1.

  46. Hi Svetlana! I've received a csv file from Shelfari of all the books I've placed on their "shelves" to import into Goodreads, as Shelfari is being taken over by Goodreads; both are Amazon websites. I've been told by Goodreads that I must use a csv file with a date format of yyyyy-mm-dd (they stipulated dashes between numbers rather than slashes) to have my "date read" column import accurately, i.e., show that i read a book on January 12, 2014 instead of December 1, 2014.

    After I create a custom date format (yyyy-mm-dd -- but I've also tried yyyy/mm/dd) for the date read column, I save the file as a csv(comma delimited) type and choose "yes" to keep this format but leave out incompatible features. If I choose "no", the changes must be saved in another type/format, but Goodreads needs a csv file so I have to choose yes.

    So I choose yes and save as a csv. But when I try to close the file window I get the pop up box: do you want to save the changes you made to the file? (I thought I just had!) and have to answer the box explaining the incompatible features again (I thought I just had!). Whether I choose yes or no to save at this point and whether I use dashes or slashes to separate the numbers, when I reopen the file, the dates are back to the original mm/dd/yyyy format. I'm using Microsoft Office Excel 2007 and am running Windows 10.

    I hope you can help me save these dates in the format Goodreads has asked for: yyyy-mm-dd instead of the format Shelfari sent me in the csv file mm/dd/yyyy.
    Thanks so much,
    Cookie

    1. Hi Cookie,

      It's difficult to determine the cause of the problem without seeing the source file. If it does not contain any sensitive information, you can send it to our support team at support@ablebits.com and we will try to fix it.

  47. I was sent a spreadsheet on the date column is has it as 20140207 but I need to change it to 2/7/2014 but when I go to the Format Cell and date and try to change the date format all I get are ########## even if I try to make the cell bigger I get the same thing.

    1. also forgot to mention can't use formulas system I trying to upload information won't accept formulas.

      1. Hello Rizo,

        Excel perceives 20140207 as a number and is unable to convert it to a date on its own. That is why you are seeing those hash marks.

        Assuming that 02 is a month and 07 is a day, you can use the following formula to convert a number to date:

        =DATE(LEFT(A1,4), MID(A1,5,2), RIGHT(A1,2))

        The formula returns a serial number representing a date in the internal Excel system. And now, you can open the Format Cells dialog and set the date format you want.

  48. How best can I obtain a number after using the =DATEIF()function for computing the age of an individual

  49. I,
    HELP ME TO CONVERT FOLLOWING DATE FORMAT

    MY FILE HAS A DATE FORMAT AS 22.05.15
    I WANT TO CONVERT THIS AS 05/22/2015

    Reply

  50. Employee attendance tables in Excel field is -Personal No. date month from-16.12.2015 to 15.01.2015 this format i want to Sheet and also his -duty,overtimes,leave,calculate this table type
    PerNo. - Date- time period- hours
    from - to -
    98264532 16.12.2015 09:00- 17:30 7.5

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