How to Set a Date and Time in Microsoft Excel

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This wikiHow teaches you different ways to insert dates into your Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

Method 1
Method 1 of 4:

Formatting a Value As a Date

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  1. Double-click the cell in which you want to type the date, and then enter the date using any recognizable date format. You can enter the date in a variety of different formats. [1]
    • Using January 3 as an example, some recognizable formats are "Jan 03," "January 3", "1/3," and "01-3."
  2. As long as Excel recognizes the date format, it will re-format the cell as a date, which is usually mm/dd/yyyy or dd/mm/yyyy, depending on your locale.
    • If the text automatically aligned to the right, then Excel recognized it as a date and re-formatted it.
    • If the text stayed aligned to the left, Excel is treating the input as text rather than a date. This could be because it cannot recognize your input as a date, or because that cell's format is set to something besides a date.
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  3. A new window will pop up.
  4. It's the first tab.
  5. A variety of date formats will appear on the right side of the window.
  6. This reformats the selected cell to display in this format.
    • You can also change your locale to access date formats used in your location.
  7. 7
    Click OK . The selected cell(s) will now display dates in the selected format.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 4:

Inserting the Current Date

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  1. This can be in an existing formula, or in a new cell.
  2. If you wish to retrieve the current time as well, use NOW() instead of TODAY() . [2]
  3. Excel will return today's date as the cell value. This is a dynamic date, meaning it will change depending on when you are viewing the sheet.
    • Use the shortcuts Ctrl + ; and Ctrl + Shift + ; instead to set a cell's value to today's date and time respectively as a static value. These values will not update, and act as a timestamp.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 4:

Using the DATE Function

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  2. Year, month, and day should be numerical inputs.
  3. Excel will return the default date format, which is usually mm/dd/yyyy or dd/mm/yyyy depending on your locale.
  4. You can set formulas for the year, month, and day values. Or, you can use the DATE function within other formulas.
    • For instance, DATE(2010,MONTH(TODAY()),DAY(TODAY())) sets the cell's value as today's month and day in 2010. The formula DATE(2020,1,1)-10 sets the value to 10 days before 1/1/2020.
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Method 4
Method 4 of 4:

Filling in Dates Using Fill Series

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  1. Double-click the cell in which you want to type the date, and then enter the date using any recognizable date format. You can enter the date in a variety of different formats.
    • Using January 3 as an example, some recognizable formats are "Jan 03," "January 3", "1/3," and "01-3."
  2. Excel will re-format the cell and align the text to the right if it has recognized it as a date.
  3. Include the cell in which you just entered the date. To select, drag your mouse over all the cells, select an entire column or row, or hold Ctrl (PC) or ⌘ Cmd (Mac) while clicking each cell.
  4. It's at the top of Excel in the "Editing" section and looks like a white box with a blue down arrow.
  5. It is near the bottom.
  6. Excel will use this to fill the blank cells based on this setting.
    • For instance, if you select "Weekday," all the blank cells will populate with the weekdays following the initial input date.
  7. Make sure the are dates filled in correctly.
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      Tips

      • Set a custom date format in Excel by right-clicking a cell, clicking Format Cells , and selecting "Custom" as the category in the Number tab. Review the available date options. Create your own by typing the format code using an existing code.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://support.office.com/en-us/article/format-a-date-the-way-you-want-8e10019e-d5d8-47a1-ba95-db95123d273e
      2. ↑ https://support.office.com/en-us/article/insert-the-current-date-and-time-in-a-cell-b5663451-10b0-40ab-9e71-6b0ce5768138

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      1. Click on a cell.
      2. Type in a date.
      3. Hit Enter .
      4. Review the date format. Change by right-clicking and selecting Format Cells .

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