Comments on: 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 or dynamic values, how to auto populate a column or row with weekdays, and how to auto fill random dates in Excel. Continue reading →

Comments page 14. Total comments: 442

  1. Hi,

    I have a spreadsheet that tracks employee hire dates and on every employee's "anniversary" we like to give them a gift card. Is there a way to take the anniversary date and, once it passes, update the cell to reflect the same day and month but the next year? Like an IF then REPLACE type of function?

    Thank you!

  2. Hi,

    I have got a spreadsheet with multiple dates against set of activities in it. Just wanted to know if there is some kind of function in excel wherein I could insert todays date against eache date and check the actual days passed from the date of the activity.

    I know we can use function like Now/Today. But I want these dates to get autorefreshed tomorrow when i am reopening the sheet.

  3. dear sir i am trying to make excel sheet as we have 4 or 5 box formed on one sheet than for the day i entered no in the box which reflect on the excel cell linked. on next day again the date change the data fill to next matched data cell of next sheet.

  4. Hi,

    Ive got a a spreadsheet with all the days of the year in column A, which runs for several years.
    In column "B" I want to input a specific value next to a specific day of the month only, i.e: the 3rd day of each month for the whole of the spreadsheet much reflect the same value.
    This is for instance when showing monthly payments made on the same date each month over a 10 year period.

    Thank you

  5. Hello,

    I am scanning in two different serial numbers into columns A & B, how do I get the corresponding column C to post the "now" automatically?

  6. Hello,
    I am trying to have a column filled with month and year based on a date range entered in 2 other cells. For example 2/1/2015 (in Cell A1) and 10/31/2015 (in Cell B1), I soul de like C1 to C9 to display Feb 2015 in C1, March 2015 in C2,... Oct 2015 in C9.

    Any help will be apprecciated!

  7. hi thanks for your help. I am trying to auto fill in the target date 59 days from start date i am using =cell +59, but is there a way it can be auto filled without typing or draging the formula from cell to cell

  8. Hello! We are trying to create a spreadsheet that shows the date of the Sunday before the date we are entering. For example:

    We enter 8/26/2015 and in the column next to it populates 8/23/2015

    Any thoughts on the formula or filter we can use for the 'Sunday' column?

    Thank you!

  9. Thanks dear. i create a excel sheet which i write daily data but i want any one enter data but don't change my data .is possible .so please tell me about this thanks.

  10. Good day!

    First off, i want to congratulate you for this informative blog. It has helped me a lot in my office work.

    I have tried one of your suggested formulas and it has worked for one of my reports. I am not so well versed in excel, thus I still have some problems creating my own custom formula. Here is my concern:

    I want to create a formula that would automatically update the month, not per day, using this format 1-Jan-15. =TODAY() will generate daily updates, what I would want is monthly, specifically end of the month. Is this possible?

    Thank you in advance for any input you can share.

  11. 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

    1. 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?

  12. 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

  13. 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!!

    1. 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

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

    1. 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.

  15. 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.

    1. 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.

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

          1. 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

  16. 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.

    1. 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.

  17. 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 :-)

  18. 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.

  19. 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?

    1. 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.

  20. 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

    1. yes

      1. 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.

  21. 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?

  22. 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

    1. 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.

      1. 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?

  23. 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!

    1. 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

  24. 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?

    1. 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.

      1. 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

      2. 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

        1. Hi Mike,

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

          1. 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.

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

    1. 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.

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

  27. 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().

    1. Too cool
      Thanks a ton

    2. Hi John,

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

      1. 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?

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

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

    1. 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.

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

      2. 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.

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

        2. You can try TODAY()-1

  30. 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

    1. Hi Imram,

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

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