How to insert dates in Excel - add today's date, auto fill a column with dates

This tutorial demonstrates various ways of entering dates in Excel. See how to insert today's date and current time as static time stamp or dynamic values, how to auto populate a column or row with weekdays, and how to auto fill random dates in Excel.

There are several ways to add dates in Excel depending on what exactly you want to do. For example, do you want to enter a today's date in some report or invoice? Or, perhaps you want to insert a date in Excel that will update automatically and always display the current date and time? Or, maybe you want to auto fill weekdays or input random dates in your worksheet?

In a moment, you will learn all these and a few more date entering techniques. If you are curious to know how Excel stores dates and times, please check out part 1 of this tutorial - Excel date format.

How to enter a date in Excel

You can type a date in an Excel cell in a variety of ways, for example 1/1/2015, or 1-Jan-2015, or 1-Jan, or January 1, 2015. When you type something like that in a cell, Microsoft Excel knows you are entering a date and automatically applies the date format to that cell. Quite often, Excel formats the newly inserted date according to your Windows default date settings, but sometimes it may leave it exactly as you typed.

The most obvious visual indication that Excel has recognized the date you've entered is its right-alignment in a cell as opposed to left-aligned text values.
Various ways to enter a date in Excel

If Excel has failed to recognize your input as a date and you see it left-justified in a cell, try inserting a date in some other format close to your default short or long date formats. These formats are marked with an asterisk (*) in the Format Cell dialog window and you can quickly access them on the Excel ribbon (Home tab > Number group):
The default short or long date formats in Excel

You will be able to easily change the date format later via the Format Cells dialog that opens on the Ctrl + 1 shortcut. For more details, please see How to change the date format in Excel.

Note. If a date you've entered displays as a number of pound signs (#####) in a cell, most likely the cell is not wide enough to fit the entire date. To fix this, double-click the right border of the column to auto fit the date, or drag the right border to set the desired column width. If this does not help, please check other Excel date format troubleshooting tips.

Tip. The fact that Excel automatically recognizes the entered value as a date may not always be what you actually want. We have some tips on how to avoid automatic data formatting.

Inserting today's date and current time in Excel

In Microsoft Excel, you can input the current date and time either as a static or dynamic value.

Shortcuts to enter today date in Excel (as a timestamp)

To begin with, let's define what timestamp is. Timestamping is entering a "static date" that won't change with the course of time or when the spreadsheet is recalculated.

So, if your goal is to enter the current date and/or time as a static value that won't automatically update the next day, you can use one of the following shortcuts:

  • Ctrl + ; shortcut inserts the today date in a cell.
  • Ctrl + Shift + ; shortcut inserts the current time.
  • To enter the current date and time, press Ctrl + ; then press the Space key, and then Ctrl + Shift + ;.

The shortcuts to insert today's date in Excel

Insert an automatically updatable today's date and current time

If you want to input today's date in Excel that will always remain up to date, use one of the following Excel date functions:

=TODAY() - inserts the today date in a cell.

=NOW() - inserts the today date and current time in a cell.
Inserting an automatically updatable today's date and current time

Unlike Excel date shortcuts, the TODAY and NOW functions will always return today's date and current time.

When using the Excel date functions, please keep in mind that:

  • The returned date and time are not refreshed continuously, they are updated only when the spreadsheet is re-opened or re-calculated, or when a macro containing the function is run.
  • The functions take the current date and time from your computer's system clock.

How to insert today date & current time as unchangeable time stamp

This section addresses a handful of comments that have been posted on this page with one and the same question: "What formula do I use to enter a timestamp in my Excel sheet without it changing every time the worksheet is reopened or recalculated?"

For starters, I'd like to note that I'm very hesitant to post this solution because it involves circular references, and they should be treated with great care. Anyway, here goes the formula…

Let's say you have a list of items in column A, and as soon as a certain item is shipped, you enter "Yes" in the Delivery column, which is column B. Once "Yes" is in there, you want to have the current date and time automatically inserted in the same row in column C as a static unchangeable time stamp.

To do this, we are going to use the following nested IF formula with circular references in the second IF function:

=IF(B2="yes", IF(C2="" ,NOW(), C2), "")

Where B is the Delivery column, and C2 is the cell where you input the formula and where the time stamp will eventually appear.
A circular formula to insert a time stamp in Excel

In the above formula, the first IF function checks cell B2 for the word "Yes" (or any other text you supply to the formula), and if the specified text is there, it runs the second IF function, otherwise returns an empty string. And the second IF is a circular formula that makes the NOW function return the current day and time if C2 doesn't have a value in it already, thus saving all existing time stamps.

If instead of checking for any specific word, you want the timestamp to appear when you put anything in the specified cell (that could be any number, text or date), then have the first IF function to check for a non-empty cell, like this:

=IF(B2<>"", IF(C2="" ,NOW(), C2), "")

Note. For this Excel circular formula to work, you should allow iterative calculations in your worksheet. Also, please keep in mind that there are many reasons not to use circular references in Excel, and if you decide to apply this solution in your worksheets, it's on your own risk.

How to auto populate dates in Excel

If you need to insert dates in a range of cells, you can let Excel "auto date" a column or row by using the AutoFill feature as demonstrated below or make a date sequence with formulas as explained in the above-linked tutorial.

Auto fill a date series that increases by one day

To automatically fill a column or row with an incrementing date series that increases by one day, you use Excel's AutoFill feature in the usual way:

  1. Enter your initial date in the first cell.
  2. Click on the cell with the first date to select it, and then drag the fill handle across or down the cells where you want Excel to add dates. (The fill handle is a small green square that appears at the bottom-right corner when you select a cell or a range of cells in Excel, as shown in the screenshot below.)

Auto filling a date series that increases by one day

Auto fill weekdays, months or years

There are two ways to automatically populate the selected range of cells with weekdays, months or years.

  • You can use the Excel AutoFill options as described above. When the range is populated with sequential dates, click the AutoFill Options icon and select the option you want:
    This is how you auto fill weekdays in Excel.
  • Another way is to enter your first date, right-click the fill handle and drag the fill handle through the cells you want to auto fill with dates, and then release it. When you do, Excel displays a context menu and you select the appropriate option from it.
    Another way to auto populate weekdays, months or years in Excel

Auto insert every 2nd, 3rd or Nth day

If you've tried a second solution described above, you probably noticed the Series option near the bottom, which provides a few more auto date features. One of them is inserting every 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. day, month or year in a worksheet. Let's try this now:

  1. Add the first date in some cell.
  2. Select that cell, right-click on the fill handle, drag it down or across several cells, and then release.
  3. In the context menu, click Series.
  4. In the Series dialog box, choose the appropriate Date unit and enter the Step value.
  5. Click OK.

Inserting every 2nd, 3rd or Nth day automatically

How to inset random dates in Excel

Regrettably, Microsoft Excel does not provide an option to enter random dates automatically. Luckily, AbleBits Random Generator for Excel does :)

You simply select a range of cells where you want to autofill dates in a random order, and switch to the Random Generator's pane where you specify:

  • Start and End date;
  • What days to add - weekdays, weekends or both;
  • To add only unique dates, check the Unique values

Then you click the Generate button, and have the selected range populated with random dates.
Inserting random dates in Excel

Apart from dates, the Random Generator add-in can auto fill your worksheets with numbers, Boolean vales and custom lists. If you think this is something that would be useful in your work, you can get it as part of our Ultimate Suite for Excel that includes 70+ time-saving tools and over 300 useful features.

If you are setting up a spreadsheet for other users, and want to make sure they enter dates right, it may be a good idea to insert a drop-down calendar in a worksheet. Your users will be able to fill in dates in a mouse click and you will be 100% confident that all dates are entered in an appropriate format.

If you are using a 32-bit version of Excel, you can use Microsoft's Date Picker control. For the detailed instructions, please see How to insert calendar in Excel (Date Picker control).

If you are using a 64-bit version of Excel 2016, Excel 2013, Microsoft's Date Picker control won't do. In this case, consider using one of the third-party calendars, for example our own one :)

Ablebits drop-down calendar for Excel

For more options, please see third-party drop-down calendars for Excel.

This is how you insert date in Excel. I am hopeful these date entering techniques, shortcuts, functions and Excel auto date features have proved useful to you. Anyway, thank you for reading!

Table of contents

442 comments

  1. Hello,

    I'm trying to autofill a column of dates, but I need 7 rows for each date. So, 7/1 for rows 2-9, then 7/2 for rows 10-17, then 7/3 for rows 18-25, etc etc etc...

    Can not figure out an easy way to do this, and I'm working with data for 3 years. That'd be almost 1,000 manual entries! Help!

    Thanks
    Alex

    • That's exactly what I need, Alex. I'm using excel to schedule weekly blog posts and need a date, then several empty lines for other information, then the date one week later, and so on. Did you ever figure out how to do that?

  2. Hi,
    If I type fortnight ending day in top of the page, how can I make it auto fill previous two weeks dates in a column below? The date should be in the format "Friday, 14 August 2015"
    Thanks
    Thilini

  3. I have a series of dates that need to be backdated for specific time frames. For example, if I put in any date at the bottom of my excel sheet in B19, I need some cells to autofill backwards by 7 days, 8 days, to 16 days in corresponding B cells. Can this be done in excel? Thanks!!

    • Hi Lisa,

      Enter the following formulas into the cells you want to auto fill:
      =$B$19-7
      =$B$19-8
      =$B$19-16

      And so on

  4. how can we apply '(inverted coma ) before date
    example '30-7-15

    • Hi I need to enter every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from September through to to July, I have tried the fill series and it just copies down the dates I enter (I have tried the first six), I know this is probably something silly, but cannot get it to work.

  5. Goodday i am using this formula so that i can monitor some things..

    =IF((B1="OK"),TODAY(), "NOT YET")

    BUT THE PROBLEM IS everytime i put "OK" on the cell all of the dates are changing into the systems date. The problem with this is that it over rights some dates i put OK on the other day. Please help me with the formula so that i can add in a cell and automatic generate date and it will never be change.

    Thank You So much.

    • Regrettably, no Excel formula can do this. Both TODAY() and NOW() are volatile functions and they update the returned dates every time the worksheet recalculates. Probably a non-changeable timestamp can be inserted by using a macro, though I don't know for sure.

      • How can i use a non-changeable timestamp using a macro? Please Help me.. Thank you :)

          • Hi just a quick response to help Svetlana with date stamps:

            Below is a simple macro that requires for you to place a macro button (go/accept) next to your answer (no/yes), this macro then copies and pastes the exact display of your =Today(), or =Now() formula which will need to be in a different cell as a generic sheet function.

            [code]
            Sub DateStamp()
            '
            ' DateStamp Macro
            '

            '
            Sheets("Sheet1").Select
            Range("A1").Select
            Selection.Copy
            Range("B3").Select
            Selection.PasteSpecial Paste:=xlPasteValuesAndNumberFormats, Operation:= _
            xlNone, SkipBlanks:=False, Transpose:=False
            End Sub
            [/code]

            Sheet1 refers to the name of your chosen sheet, "A1" is the =today() or =Now() cell, and "B3" is your Stamp Cell. Beyond this, you will need to explore VBA coded Macros which are more complex; but are there nonetheless.

            Hope this helps.

            John

  6. Hi,

    i need to add some text plus date and time.
    for eg: email sent to xyz and current date and time.
    i know the function of date and time i.e, =NOW()
    if email sent to xyz is in the cell c1 and =NOW() is in D1 cell
    then the formula will be =C1 & D1 and enter.
    but my question is it is not displaying the time and date insted it is displaying time in points.

    • Hi HUMERA,

      When you are concatenating a text string and a date or time, the latter is converted to a serial number representing that date and time in the internal Excel system. To force Excel to display the date and time correctly, you can use the TEXT function with the desired date/time format, for example:

      =C1 & " " & TEXT(D1, "m/d/yy h:mm:ss AM/PM")

      " " adds a space between the concatenated values, feel free to remove it if it's not needed.

      Also, please keep in mind that NOW() is a volatile function and the time will be updated every time the worksheet recalculates.

  7. Hi everybody!!
    I have an Excel document, That i use for my hours at work and for artwork hours that I do.
    I never put any dates in for the artwork hours, as I bill for these weekly, but really need the dates now, is there any way to find out when the data was input? So I can print it out and let lawyers know that my work has dropped off? I am doing a claim for a car accident, that wasnt my fault, and need to show this
    Many Thanks everybody :-)

  8. So my questions has to do with automatically updating a cell date based on the current date. I get paid bi-weekly at my job and I currently have my spread sheet set up so that if today's date is greater than my pay date it automatically calculates my budget based off my next pay check. What I'm interested in is automatically updating a cell to my next pay date. So if it is Friday 7/24 then the desired cell would stay at Friday 7/24. If today is Saturday 7/25 then the cell would update to my next pay date, Friday 8/7. Likewise, if today is Sunday 7/26 then the cell would update to Friday 8/7. If today's date was 8/8 then the cell would update to Friday 8/21...etc. Thank you for your assistance.

  9. Hello, one I drag the fill handle to the selected rows it will not allow me to click on fill weekdays. The only thing it will let me click on is "copy cells" "Fill Formatting Only" or "Fill Without Formatting" is there a way to help me so that I do not have to enter =date(2015,7,20) and so on every time?

    • Sarah,

      The "Fill weekdays" option is disabled if the initial date(s) is entered by using a formula.

      Simply type your first date in some cell, like 7/20/2015, select that cell, click the right mouse button and drag the fill handle down the cells you want to auto fill with dates, and then release it. When you do this, you will the the "Fill weekdays" among other options in the context menu.

  10. Hi, I was wondering if there is a way I can fill the current date [=TODAY()] into excel when filling in information without it changing every time I re-enter the excel document to view the information. Thanks

    • yes

      • Hi Tim,

        TODAY() is a volatile function that updates every time the worksheet recalculates. To enter the today date as a non-changeable timestamp, you can either use the Ctrl + ; shortcut or try to find a special macro.

  11. hi, just need to ask a quick question. suppose i have to fill a sheet as following- first cell will be my day 1, the next cell will be day 5, and the next after that day 15, and so on. So is there any way to automatically fill the dates accordingly by using any formulas or macros?

  12. Hi,
    I want to update my time sheet, every day I open my excel file and put date by my self. I know about the today function, is it possible that next day when I open my excel sheet it will update automatically with effect that the previous date remain un change.
    thanks

    • Hi Imran,

      Sorry, I am not sure I understand your question. If you typed the previous date manually, it won't be changed. The date returned by the TODAY() function is updated automatically when the workbook is reopened or recalculated.

      • I believe I am trying to do the same thing. I want to auto populate the date on my time sheet. Is there a formula for making sheet1, cell A1 and B1, be week 1 of the year and the date change from sheet 1-52 for each week of the year automatically?

        I manually change the date in cell B2 at this time which reads this way. 12/27/15-1/2/16

        I really would like to format the cells for the entire year. Is this possible somehow?

  13. Hi Svetlana,

    I would like to automatically fill a cell with an invoice number that is the current date. Ex: 062915 (just number with no formatting). What would that formula be? Thanks!

    • Hi Darrell,

      You want the invoice number to be permanent, right? If so, you cannot use the TODAY() function because it automatically updates to reflect the current date.

      The most reliable solution for your task would be a VBA code.

      If you are not very good at VBA, you can use the following approach:
      - Apply the custom date format to the cell: mmddyy
      - Use the Ctrl + ; shortcut to insert today's date

  14. i have two columns A and B.
    If i type "yes" in A1, i want B1 to be auto populated with date and time data.
    ex. A1 = YES, B1 = 16.06.2015 16:59

    Later on, after 30min, i would like to type in A2 "yes" and B2 to be auto populated with date and time as well
    ex. A2 = YES, B2 = 16.06.2015 17:29 (30mins later)

    Have in mind that B1 needs to stay the first value 16.06.2015 16:59.

    Any advice?

    • Hi Alex,

      If my understanding is correct, you want to insert the current date and time as a timestamp in B1 once you type "yes" in A1.

      To input the current time is easy by using the NOW function, but to force it not to refresh is a challenge. This can be done using a circular formula, however I have to warn you that it's a slippery and not recommended approach. Apart from a warning displayed on every opening of a workbook, if you accidentally switch to Formula Editing Mode and press Enter without making any changes to the circular formula, it will return a zero. And this is just one of several possible side-effects... So, if you decide to use the below formula for B1, it's on your own risk :)

      =IF(A1="yes",IF(B1="",NOW(),B1),"")

      For the circular formula to work, you need to allow iterative calculations in a worksheet (Excel Options > Formulas > Calculation options).

      And this is the formula for B2 that adds 30 minutes to the value in B1 once you type "yes" in A2 (this one is normal):

      =IF(A2="yes", B1+TIME(0,30,0), "")

      If you want to add a current time stamp in B2 too, then you would need to use a circular formula similar to the above mentioned one.

      • To piggy-back off what Alex asked I'm hoping to format the cell to populate with todays date any time something is changed in a row. My B column is the date (Last Change Made)There are multiple other columns with data that coincide with the large number or rows. Example: if I update C1, E101, and F36 I want B1, B101, and B36 to automatically update to reflect todays date. Please advise.
        Thank You

        • Hi Mike,

          Regrettably, Excel functions cannot track data change, most likely your task requires VBA code.

          • Hi Svetlana!
            I daily put some numbers in 3 to 4 consecutive rows in a column. All I want from excel is to have the record which day I put a particular number in that column, and then add the values I entered in a day.
            Is there any formula in excel for that?
            Kindly help even if it is possible with only VBA.

      • Shortcuts to enter today date in Excel (as a timestamp)
        To begin with, let's define what timestamp is. Timestamping is entering a "static date" that won't change with the course of time or when the spreadsheet is recalculated.

        So, if your goal is to enter the current date and/or time as a static value that won't automatically update the next day, you can use one of the following shortcuts:

        Ctrl + ; shortcut inserts the today date in a cell.
        Ctrl + Shift + ; shortcut inserts the current time.
        To enter the current date and time, press Ctrl + ; then press the Space key, and then Ctrl + Shift + ;.
        The shortcuts to insert today's date in Excel

  15. Hi,is the option above available in office 2010 or 2013 ?

    • Hi Elliott,

      Of course, this option (Series) is available in Excel 2010 and Excel 2013.

      Just enter the first date, select that cell, right-click on the fill handle, drag it down and when you release it you will see the Series option like demonstrated in the screenshot in this tutorial.

  16. Auto insert every 2nd, 3rd or Nth day

  17. Hi
    I use an excel spreadsheet weekly for admin purposes. its split over 5 days and the date has to be populated for everyday. is there a way this can be done automatically no matter when i open the spreadsheet. I know how to auto pop todays date =TODAY().

    • Hi John,

      You can be as simple as =TODAY()+1, =TODAY()+2 etc.

      • Then, everyday all the dates will change, right? As the algorithm is getting today's date, then everyday the date will be date+1? How about a formula which just will take the current date for every different tab and will not change after the day has passed?

    • Too cool
      Thanks a ton

  18. Hi
    How to Insert a calendar in a specific cell in excel 2013 without downloading a add-in.

  19. no adjust date format in all rows like 01/01/1950

    • Hi Mudasar,

      Select all the rows where you need to adjust the date format and Press Ctrl+1 to open the Format Cells dialog. In the Format Cells window, on the Number tab, select Date in the Category list and pick a desired date format under Type. For the detailed steps illustrated with screenshots, please see Changing date format in Excel.

      • Hi, I want to change the date for eg if I am converting (1/2/2016 2:00 AM) only in date format it will come as 1/2/2016 but i want it to be as 1/1/2016, as I am calculating date from 4:00 am to 4:am. Please help.

        • You can try TODAY()-1

        • Since dates are stored with time I always use "int(now())" to get the raw date without the time.

      • HOW CAN I CHANGE DATE & TIME AUTOMATICALLY WHEN I OPEN EXCEL SHEET .

  20. i daily make a report with some same figures arrive to filled in two or more diffrent cells in excel, is there any way that when i enter a figure in a cell(Let B3) the same figure should entered in another cell(let F9)? I seek your guidance in this case. thanks

    • Hi Imram,

      I think you can simply enter =B3 in cell F9. Is this what you are looking for?

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