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 25. Total comments: 940

  1. 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

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. 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.

  6. 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/

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

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

  9. 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.

  10. 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?

  11. 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?

  12. 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

  13. 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

  14. 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.

  15. 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)

  16. 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.

  17. 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.

  18. 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.

  19. 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.

  20. 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.

  21. 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.

  22. 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.

  23. 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")

  24. 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

  25. 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.

  26. 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.

  27. 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.

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

  29. 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

  30. 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

  31. Hi

    How to change the Fri, 1 Jan, 2016 format to 1-Jan-2015 format ?

    1. Hi Aditya,

      It's one of the predefined Excel formats for dates. So, simply select the cell(s), press Ctrl+1 to open the Format Cells dialog, and switch to Dates. Then under the Type section, scroll to the very bottom, and select the format like "14-Mar-2012".

  32. Vipin Kumar:
    If I understand your problem right, you can try

    =IF(G2>F2,"profit",IF(G2<F2,"loss",IF(G2=F2,"even")))

    Good Luck!

  33. my problum whan iam cell formula =if(g2>f2,"profit",if(g2>f2,"loss",if(g2>f2,"even))) not come the loss

  34. HI,
    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

    1. 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

      1. Hi can you help me?

        from CVS file. The date shows 01/07/2016 which is July 1, 2016, But when I format the cell and click the format 14-Mar-01 which means"March 14, 2001" it shows 1-Jul-16 which is January 7, 2016. how I can make it July 1, 2016 which is suppose to be the date.

        Thank you.

  35. Hi, how do I replace cells with format 00:03:13:79 by 00:03:13,79 for a whole column?
    I need to be able to add those time values (in format uu:mm:ss,00;@). When I simply replace the last ":" by "," it works, but changing all those cells by hand would take ages...

  36. Hello,
    In Canada the government has specific date format that is legislated for food items. The format for the Date is as follows: 08 JA 30
    January: JA
    February: FE
    March: MR
    April: AL
    May: MA
    June: JN
    July: JL
    August: AU
    September: SE
    October: OC
    November: NO
    December: DE

    My question is how can excel use AL for April or MR for March? Much appreciated.

    1. apr for april...mar for march

  37. I found the answer to my question thought I would share

    DATE: =LEFT($D2,2)&"/"&MID($D2,3,2)&"/15"

    TIME: =MID($D2,5,2)&":"&MID($D2,7,2)&":"&RIGHT($D2,2)

    Hope someone else needs it :-)

    HAVE A BLESSED DAY !

  38. Hi, I need to convert a date format like this: dd mm (no dash, comma, colon as separation characters between day and month values) to any date format which can be recognized by excel. Already tried with custom format without any success....can you help me?

    1. I really wish there were more arelicts like this on the web.

  39. Dears,,,
    please help i need to create date format as yyyymmdd (20151230)= 30/12/2015 . i have tryed but it's not working . advice your assisstance

  40. Thank you for such a great tutorial!!! You just saved my job.

  41. Is it possible to convert a date in excel to an 11 digit interga 11 format.
    So this equates to the time in seconds since 1970.

  42. The second link in this whole section is:
    How to convert date to number in Excel

    I need the reverse
    How to convert a serial number to date in Excel
    but have not found it. Think of is as a trig function where I want to do the reverse. It's probably somewhere on the net, and I just can't see it... Getting old I guess... Can you help?? Thanks. JoeD 20151102 (I see this date format is becoming more popular; I've used it for about 30 years even with 4 decimals appended

  43. I need to covert a cell that contains both the date and time 1027154048 (1027 is the date and 154048 is hour (15=3) minutes and seconds. I need to be able to convert by formula into two separate cells if possible without going in and separating the numbers manually for each cell?

  44. Hi...I have several columns under the following format: "SEP-16-2013" until "SEP-16-2015" but when I try to change the "GENERAL" format to "DATE" format, excel does nothing and I need to filter the info by specific month,day,year. If I replace "SEP" to "09" I am abble to change the format (as DATE), but I have at least 60 columns under that format and have it done this way takes a lot of time...any suggestions?

  45. Hi there,
    i am importing a csv file and i have a column with date (in chinese e.g. 8月28日 which is 28th of August) but when i import this file (and replace the chinese characters with "/") some of the dates is shown as a date and some other as text. Despite of it if i try to change the format of the "text" date, it doesn't show the number as it is supposed to show.
    It is very difficult to find a solution i have been struggling for the entire day.
    Can replace the date one by one as we are talking several files with several thousands of row each.
    I trie to change my local language setting as well but no solution unfortunately.
    Any helps?
    Thanks.

  46. hi sevetlana how to inserting date use utc format in c# code.

    1. Furrealz? That's maolverusly good to know.

  47. Hi,
    Can someone help with an issue we are having. The format of our Excel is Swedish. when I type a date into a cell with no (General) format, such as 3/10 (meaning October 3rd) Excel changes this to 10/3 and applies a custom format to the cell. How can I get Excel to simply accept what I have entered as the correct format and not change the order?

    1. Hi,
      Did you managed to get a solution? I'm facing the same issue. Can't seems to find the answer and so far, you're the only one that is asking this question. How to change the sequence? 1/5 to be 1st May instead of 5th Jan. Please help.

  48. Hi Svetlana,

    how can i format an excel cell which will give me a day format which will give me in days more than 31. Whenever I am giving a day with the format "dd" the same is showing as 1 for 32 days and so on.Please help

  49. I want to date 18/08/2015 is 1808205 no slash no dot please help me.thanks

    1. =Text(Select Date,"ddmmyyyy")

    2. Hi Sanjay,

      You can either apply the custom format ddmmyyyy to the cell, or use the formula like =TEXT(A1, "ddmmyyyy") where A1 is the cell containing your date. The former changes only the display formatting, while the latter (TEXT function) converts a date to a text value.

      1. Thanks a lot it helps us a lot..... :)

  50. Excellent article! I was going crazy trying to fix an issue with dates from an old file that didn't convert correctly when I upgraded and I finally could. Thank you very much!

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