How to Figure Dates in Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program that is commonly used to edit and save numerical data. There are numerous functions that can be used with Excel, including time functions that can display and calculate time and date. Some of the common functions used in figuring time and date include "NOW," "YEAR," "MONTH," "DAY," and "DATE." Differences between two dates can be calculated and displayed in number of days.

Instructions

1. Launch Microsoft Excel and open a spreadsheet on which you wish to edit dates.

2. Type in "NOW()" in a cell to display the current time.

3. Select the cell, click the "Format" menu and select "Cells."

4. Select the "Number" tab and select "Date" under the "Category" menu.

5. Select the date format you wish to display under the "Type" menu, and click "OK." The current date and time will be displayed in the cell.

Tips & Warnings

• The differences in time can be calculated in number of days, hours and minutes by using the difference function.

References

• Meadinkent.co.uk: Date and Time Functions

Resources

• Microsoft Support: How to Use Date and Times in Excel