Date formats

[JOSEPH WEBER]

I need to know if there is a way to have a spreadsheet format dates
automatically without affecting other cells. For example, in cell a1 or any
other cell, i want to enter "january 09" and have the date stay exactly as i
typed it instead of what Excel does "9-jan". I want it to do this with every
instance of a date in the spreadsheet. I still want to be able to type in
cell a2 a numerical value. Outside of formating a column for a date is there
any way i can get Excel to do this? Please help.

 

[JE McGimpsey]

There's no way for a macro to know how you typed it in unless you cell
the number format to Text.

Otherwise, XL's parser automatically interprets the entry as a date and
converts it to a long integer before any event fires that could trigger
a macro.

 

[JOSEPH WEBER]

The only way I thought of doing it was to put the dates in a different column
and just format that column the way they want the date to display. This
would probably be the best way right?

 

[JE McGimpsey]

"Best" is a word I don't throw around much with XL, since user
implementations vary so much. But if it works, that seems logicial.