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 2. Total comments: 442

  1. Hello, I use Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013 the shortcut (ctrl+;) does not work for current date; what is the reason?
    Thanks
    Jihadullah "Basharyar"

    1. Hello! Note that the shortcut (ctrl+;) works when the input language is English. This may be the cause of the problem.

  2. Hello Everyone,
    I have a spreadsheet that has a data. What I need is when I enter data(Number) in cell X13 that changes every time or updates, I want it to link with data(Number) in column AV11:AV50 according to the time it was entered and the timestamp in column AU11:AU50 should also change according to the time when the data was entered OR Updated in cell X13 and stack each data(Number) and timestamp according to the time entered.
    What can I do? Thank you!

    DATA TIME DATA
    X13 Column(AU11.... AU50) Column(AV11.... AV50)
    Eg 450 (When update Eg: 230) 26/6/2023 450
    Also update 27/6/2023 230
    ... ...
    ... ...
    ... ...

  3. I have a spreadsheet that has a notes column. I have a column alongside it that says "last updated". I want the date and time stamp so used the formulas above. It didn't work but the following did:
    =IF(G8"",NOW(), C8)

    However if I type a note in G7 for example, C7 also updates with the time stamp. I would like each row to act independently as each row is for a different property.

    For reference in the above example, C7 has the following formula in it: =IF(G7"",NOW(), C7)

    I hope this makes sense?

    Thank you.

  4. Hi, first my thanks for this work.
    I'm trying to create excel vba forms for a specific work. I want the dates to be selected in the forms by user. As date picker is not working in forms, is there any other way for it?

  5. Hello, I want to set numbering of dates as 01/07/2022 will set as 1 even if this date repeat multiple times all will set as 1 and next date will set as 2 & so on.
    Please help.

  6. Hello Everyone,

    Can someone please explain to me how I can enter the same year to a date? Example I have an excel sheet with about 100 lines, but all have dates as 01/02, 01/03,01/04, how can I add the same year to these dates, so it looks like 01/02/2022, 01/03/2022, 01/04/2022?

    Thank you in advance!

      1. Thank you very much for sharing this information. You have saved me a lot of time.
        I appreciate it!

    2. Lets say the date is in Column A.
      You can add a column next to it and apply the formula =DATE(2022,MONTH(A1),DAY(A1)) and drag the same formula throughout.

  7. Hello,

    I'm trying to create a spreasheet for my ventilator patients. Basically, I need one column with my patients names, the next column to have the date of their last vent check, then the next column to have whether they're a patient that's checked every 3 months or every 6 months. The next column needs to be the next date their due for a vent check, so depending on if they're a "3" month or "6" month patient will determine if the :next vent check date" will add 90 days or 180 days from the "last vent check date." I hope that made sense.

    1. Hello! Use the IF function to check the value of 3 months or 6 months. Then add 90 or 180 days to the date.
      The formula might look like this:

      IF(C1="3 month",B1+90,IF(C1="6 month",B1+180,""))

      I can't see your data, so I can't recommend the exact formula.

  8. Hi, I want to find a way to calculate dates based on a percentage. I have the start and end date for a particular project, and I have a set % of required time for each task in that project. Can excel help me calculate the estimated completion date of each task?

  9. Mine autofills just adding a year, so 1/1/2023, 1/1/2024 instead of 2/1/2023. What can I do? Thank you!

  10. Hi

    How do I have my dates automatically generate after inputting the first date ? i.r in row 4 I have 1/5/23 then in 37 I want the date 2/5/23 and then 70 and so on.. without having the manually type the dates in. Thank you

  11. I want to today's date to be auto filled in 'column A' whenever a data is entered in 'Column B'. Is this possible?

    1. Hi! Pay attention to the following paragraph of the article above: Formula to insert today date & current time as unchangeable time stamp.
      It covers your case completely.

  12. I am trying to figure out how to make a sequential number come up in a cell each time you open the worksheet? I know it can be done but am having a hard time finding it.

    Thank you

  13. Hi, i am looking to add a fixed date the following month based on the date in a cell is there an easy way?

  14. Hi, I am working on a qualifications spreadsheet to allow a reader to view when a workers qualifications are going to expire. Next to each name there is an expiry date which has been hyperlinked to a document (the qualification). I have been requested to colour code these expiry dates with the below:

    red- when the date has expired
    orange- when the date has 3 months remaining
    green- when the date has more than 6 months remaining.

    I need the links to automatically change, so turn from green to orange for example, on its own.

    please can you help with this? Thanks

  15. Hi there,
    I have a problem and don't see anyone having a similar quastion above. I have 20.000 rows with dates from a database and I need to insert the missing dates between the rows.I have sorted the column by date from oldest to newest. I can do it manually but it will take ages. Is there any other way to do it ? or any suggestions?
    Alexander

      1. thank you very much sir. I will look up to it right now

  16. I love this community; it saves me many times a week it seems...

    I have a problem I've yet to find a solution to though... I need to fill multiple rows (7) with today's date, then the next 7 with tomorrows date, etc. for a full year.

    So,
    1/26/23
    1/26/23
    1/26/23
    1/26/23
    1/26/23
    1/26/23
    1/26/23
    1/27/23
    1/27/23
    1/27/23
    1/27/23
    1/27/23
    1/27/23
    1/27/23

    Etc..

    Please tell me there's a method that isn't manual?

    Thanks in advance!

      1. Alex!

        I can't thank you enough! Not only for the answer, but for the resource so I can learn this function more on my own.

        A debt of gratitude to you :-)

        1. On a side note... as soon as you have Mac versions of Ablebits, I will gladly download and pay :-)

  17. I am looking for a way to autofill a cell with a date two weeks in advance of current date when the cell before it has an input of 'Yes'.

      1. I'm a little new on this, I'm trying to find or get a formula for inventory, Sheet1 (Inventory) and sheet2 (weekly Inventory)
        I have the date setup on sheet1 to change by Date
        Here come the problem
        I will like for counts or inventory to pass from inventory sheet , to Sheet2 by date

        Example: on Friday, 100 marbles and 50 table cloth was sold, it is on B5 and B6 on Sheet1
        on Saturday 10 marbles and 10 table cloth, on sheet2 (Weekly) I will like that to be on Friday on E5 and E6
        and Saturday on H5 and H6 so I can Sum the week
        keep in mind that I will remove the Inventory from sheet1 to reuse it the following day
        but don't want the info on Shee2 to change.
        Not sure if I'm explaining correctly, but I need some help on this.

          1. Thanks, for the fast responds
            I think I use the wrong term, and did not explain my self correctly, not data but the information (Numbers) of sales
            I re-wrote the question to try to explain it a little better. Thanks in advance.

            Example:
            On Friday, I sold 100 marbles and 50 table cloth, - It is on B5 and B6 on Sheet1
            On Saturday I sold, 10 marbles and 10 table cloth,
            On sheet2 (Weekly) I will like that to be on Column Friday on E5 and E6 and on Column Saturday it's on H5 and H6,
            so I can Sum the entire week
            keep in mind that I will use Sheet1 Inventory on the daily bases, so I will change the amount Sold
            but don't want the info on Shee2 to change, since the date is now Saturday and Friday sheet should not be affected by Saturday sales.

            Not sure if I'm explaining correctly, but I need some help on this.

            1. Hi!
              You can solve the problem using formulas if you replace the formulas with their values. You can try writing a macro that copies your data to different cells on Sheet2 depending on the day of the week.

            2. I think I explain it a little better here, !Sorry

              I'm a little new on this, I'm trying to find or get a formula for inventory, Sheet1 (Inventory) and sheet2 (weekly Inventory)
              I have the date setup on sheet1 to change by Date
              Here come the problem
              I will like to have the inventory to pass from Sheet1 , to Sheet2 by date.

              Example:
              On Friday, I sold 100 marbles and 50 table cloth, - It is on B5 and B6 on Sheet1
              On Saturday I sold, 10 marbles and 10 table cloth,
              I will like that information to be on Column Friday on sheet2 on E5 and E6 and on Column Saturday it's on H5 and H6,
              so I can Sum the entire week
              keep in mind that I will use Sheet1 Inventory on the daily bases, so I will change the amount Sold at the end of the day
              but don't want the info on Shee2, Column E to change, since the date is now Saturday, Column H, and Friday Column should not be affected by Saturday sales because the date has change to Saturday,
              Column H, is Saturday Column.

  18. Hi,

    I'm trying to create an excel template that will update dates based on when I create the sheet to be the previous 2 Mondays. (this is to create a bi weekly report)

  19. Hi there,

    Can you please assist with a function where the time entered automatically updates the day

    Example
    Date Started Date Stopped
    1-Jan-23 2-Jan-23

    If i should enter time like 9:00 am which is within 1-Jan-23.. that doesnt change but if i enter 3:00 am, it will automatically update the date to 2-Jan 23.

    Thanks

    Henry

    1. Hi!
      I am not sure I fully understand what you mean. Why is 9:00 a.m. January 1st and 3:00 a.m. January 2nd? What is the date at 5:00?

  20. Hi, I have worked out the formula I need but I am unable to get the data to auto-populate when I type into one of the columns.

    My formula works is in 2 columns, the first one works out a date 3 months on, the 2nd column works out a date 6 months on.

    Example
    Column B 1st Column 2nd Column
    02.12.2022 (date 3 months on from B2 is calculated) (date 6 months on from B2 is calculated)

    When I type a new date into column B, I would like the dates to automatically populate in the 1st and 2nd columns. The formula works fine but I can't get it to automatically do it when I type a new date under the last one in B. I have checked all the obvious things in options and calculation being set to automatic.

    I hope you can help.

  21. Anyone can help me how to apply in excel like date of expiration in contract and remind me the date in the same day occur.

  22. I have a contact sheet with websites & passwords I would like to add a "last updated" column to it. How do I have excel automatically updated the date in that column whenever anything is changed on the row for the contact?

      1. Got it, Thank you Alexander Trifuntov (Ablebits Team) for you help!

  23. Hi,

    Good day.

    How can I put EDA in a column next to the date the item will be ready.

    Many thanks
    Sami

  24. I'm creating a document that needs to show due dates of assignments, and would like it to auto fill based on how many days the assignment is due. Example: I will have a place for today's date, below is a list of assignments that range from 3 days to 10 months that are due, and I would like it to auto fill when I put todays date in when each assignment is due. Can anyone help?

      1. Hood day Hope you can help me?

        i would like to calculate interest from selected dated - that I can do BUT
        i would like to have a description Colum I used the following "formula" Colum B has the dates
        =CONCAT("Interest on outstanding capital from ",B51," to ",B52)

        but i get this as a result Interest on outstanding capital from 42527 to 42571

        i have colum B as a date Culum - Short date

        i hope im clear with my query

        Thank you in advance

        Awie

  25. Greetings,

    Please help with excel formula.

    I have got a sheet with employees' hire date in the organisation. In terms of the BCEA and company policy, each employee's sick leave is running for three year cycle.

    I need a formula to calculate when does each employee's three cycle is ending. The formula must cater for those employees who started with the organisation long years ago (e.g. 1980-Oct-01). How to calculate the next 3 year cycle using employee 's hire date?

    1. Hi!
      The information you provided is not enough to understand your case and give you any advice, sorry. Give an example of the source data and the expected result.

  26. Dear all,
    I don't know Excel have function as below or not:
    1. Production plan at cell: A1:A1= 24Boxes ( When 8:00AM)
    2. Would like to set up function at B2:B2 (need to setup function to capture data from A1:A1 when 9:00AM)
    3. After 5:00PM Update Actual output=22Boxes into A1:A1, But no need Data of B2:B2 change(Still need 24boxes)
    *** The question: How can i do?

    1. Hi!
      You can use the IF function to update the value of a cell after 09:00 or some other time. Try this formula:

      =IF(NOW()>TIME(9,0,0),A1,"")

      If this is not what you wanted, please describe the problem in more detail.

  27. my date appears as 1/0/1900. what am i doing wrong?

  28. Hey,
    I am trying to find a way of getting the excel to return the date when a specific field in a table is set to 'yes'. So whenever I set 'J' cell to yes I need the spreadsheet to show the day it was set to yes in another column.
    Below is the formula I came across but it is not exactly what I expected.

    =IF(J4="yes",TEXT(TODAY(),"mm/dd/yyyy"),"") function kind of works but my issue is that I need the excel to show the exact date when 'J' cells are set to yes.

    Any feedback would be highly appreciated.
    Thank you

  29. Hello, back in October 2021 you wrote a formula for me to convert this type of date stamp : Jan 10, 2022 07:02 AM to 10/01/22. This worked well but did not work where the date was a single digit eg. Jan 4, 2022 04:50 PM. You gave me the updated formula but unfortunately it has been over written. Can you re-cap how to amend this formula to cater for single digit dates?

    =DATE(MID(A2,FIND("~",SUBSTITUTE(A2," ","~",2),1)+1,4), VLOOKUP(LEFT(A2,3), {"JAN",1;"FEB",2;"MAR",3;"APR",4;"May",5;"JUN",6;"JUL",7;"AUG",8;"Sep",9;"OCT",10;"NOV",11;"DEC",12},2,0), MID(A2,FIND(" ",A2,1)+1,2))

    Thank you in advance, Laura

      1. That's great thank you so much

  30. how can I automatically get 2nd December by typing 2/12 (dd/mm) instead of 12/2 (mm/dd)?
    Thanks

  31. wanted to get date auto changed once i made any changes in excel sheet but require date to be change only when i did any changes.

    so how i do this please help

    1. Hi!
      The article above describes in detail how and when the date that you inserted using the TODAY or NOW function changes.

  32. How do I generate a series of dates in a column between a specific range that only provides Tuesday and Thursday or Monday and Wednesday? Thanks.

    1. Hi!
      Write the date in cell A1, which is Monday. In cell A2, write down the formula

      =IF(WEEKDAY(A1,2)=1,A1+2,A1+5)

      Copy the formula down the column.
      You can learn more about WEEKDAY function in Excel in this article on our blog.

  33. Hi.
    I’m trying to create a fiscal year calendar starting from April 1st to March 31st where I can input colleagues time off using hours and not days.

    I’ve used a template from excel but when looking at the dates after choosing the year, it’s displaying the dates wrong on some months.

    Ie. February only has 28 days in the month but somehow manages to display 31 and then that puts March 1st on the wrong day.

    The cells all have pretty much a different formula

    Cells C7 to I30 have:
    =IFERROR(IF(TEXT(DATE(Calendar_Year,ROW($A4),1),”ddd”)=LEFT(G$6,3),DATE(Calendar_Year,ROW($A4),1),IF(F7>=1,F7+1,””)),””)

    Cells J7 to AG30 have:
    =IFERROR(IF(I7>=1,I7+1,””),””)

    Cells AH7 to AR30 have:
    =IFERROR(IF(AND(AG7>=1,AG7+1<=DATE(Calendar_Year,ROW($A4)+1,0)),AG7+1,””),””)

    Any help would be much appreciated.

    1. Hello!
      I cannot verify how your formulas work. They contain references to cells in your tables. But I can't guess what data is written there. Please provide me with an example of the source data and the expected result.

  34. My difficulty is if i chose cell from another sheet which have "DATE" formula. And i want to change that date into another date to in the cell in which i have to do the modification. So which formula i should use, So i get direct result. like cell have today date (13/11/2021) and i have to change it into 15/11/2021 in the another cell but by keeping reference of the cell which have todays date.

  35. How to auto populate Monday of the week for next few years.

    1. Choose your first date (a date when day is Monday) and then use auto fill series option with step of 7. It will give you date of next Monday and so on.

  36. Very helpful and well-written. Thanks!

  37. Hi!
    I have 12 colums (1 for each month). Is there a formula where I can only write the day under january, for example, and it automatically fills the month (january) and year (2021)? Eg: I type 1 under January colum and its fills into 2021-01-01?

    Thank you!

  38. Hey there,
    When I insert a date into a cell it calculates by a value of one (using on a point system), how do I adjust the formula to calculate by a value of .5?

    Thank you,

  39. Good day. I want to auto update the date in a cell, each time I update my sheet. For instance, the date must update in A1 when I enter a value in B1. Then tomorrow when I enter a value in B2, that day"s date must auto update in A2.

    Please help.

    Kind regards
    Werner

  40. I need to make a auto timer with date and time, if time for the next day it’s not changing in date

    1. Hello!
      To prevent your date from automatically changing, you can use several methods:
      1. Use Shortcuts to insert the current date and time
      2. Use the recommendations from this article in our blog.
      3. Replace the date and time returned by the TODAY function with their values. Copy the date (CTRL + C), then paste only the values using Paste Special or Shortcut CTRL + ALT + V.

  41. Is there any formula for updating the date automatically once i copy paste the data in another sheet of the excel. The purpose being i need for a stat update daily while keeping the old one.

    1. Hello!
      Pay attention to the following paragraph of the article above — Functions to insert today's date that updates automatically

  42. Ok. I am looking for dates to auto populate based on a loan term and how many days left till the end of each month.

    Want the formula to know if the loan term will be 24 months (2 yrs) and or 36 months (3 yrs).
    Would like to create a formula that takes into account todays date, determine how many days left till the end of the month, once the 10 day mark is reached before the end of the month want the dates to auto populate to the next cycle.

    For example using two year term.

    Cell A1 = Loan Payment Date (Example value (06/01/2021)
    Cell B1 = Loan End Date before (Example value (07/01/2023)

    but since todays date is 5/25/2021 want the formula to recognize it is < 10days till end of month and change the Loan Payment Date to 07/01/2021 and the Loan End Date 08/01/2023.

    I know its possible just don't know how to create the formula.

    1. Hi!
      An Excel formula can change the value only in the cell that it is pasted in. If you need to change the content on the cell that has some value in it, you’ll need to use a VBA macro.

      1. There is a way to do it without using a macro. I guess you are not that advanced in Excel as you would like to think you are.

  43. Sir, i am using =IF(B2"", IF(C2="" ,NOW(), C2), "") this formula and having a problem for last few days.

    Problem is:
    When I go into the spreadsheet, every day take the current date for my last few entries .

    I m using google spreadsheet.

    could you pls give me solution

    1. Hello Noman,

      NOW in Google Sheets is a volatile function meaning it recalculates itself each time any change is made in a spreadsheet. There are 2 ways to change this behavior:

      1. Open the spreadsheet, go to File > Spreadsheet settings > Calculation and pick one of three existing settings for Recalculation.
      2. Enter static dates and time manually or using the following keyboard shortcuts:
        • Ctrl+; for date
        • Ctrl+Shift+: for time

  44. copy date and time off pdf sheet into a log?

  45. i use this but its not working
    =IF(B1="yes",IF(C1="yes",NOW(),""),FALSE)

    apple yes 0/1/1900
    banana yes 0/1/1900
    grape yes 0/1/1900

    1. Hello!
      If I understand correctly, you want to replace the value in C1 with the current date using the formula. We have said many times on our blog that this is only possible with a VBA macro.

  46. How do I dislay result as "as on today date in excel

  47. I have JAN2021 sheet with columns labeled with dates D2=01-JAN, E2=02-JAN, F2=03-JAN until AG2=30-JAN then rows C4=John, C5=Albert, C6=Mark until C58=Steve with D4:AG58 marked either as x or v. Another sheet called Dates with rows C2=John, C3=Albert until C56=Steve and columns F2:AI56 blank. Question is how can I auto-populate the date in F2:AI56 from Jan2021 sheet when I enter v as a value in D4:AG58?

    JAN2021
    D2=01-Jan
    C4=John
    D4= v

    Dates
    C2=John
    F2=autopopulate 01-Jan

  48. date formula not working

    1. Hello!
      Please specify what you were trying to find, what formula you used and what problem or error occurred. Give an example of the source data and the expected result.
      It’ll help me understand it better and find a solution for you.

  49. i want your help please...
    i want to enter the specific month and year on A3, and i want to automatic fill A7 with the next month of A3, how will i do it?
    Thanks

  50. one question!
    how insert date automatically in Excel every day change it automatically date?

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