Date format 050180 to 05/01/80

[LauraNH]

If data is entered as mmddyy, how do I get it to change to mm/dd/yy? I have
tried formatting the cell to no avail. HELP!

 

[JMB]

First, you need to convert the data to an actual date. Try clicking
Data/Text To Columns. Select Delimited, click Next, ensure all checkboxes
under the Delimiters section are unchecked, click next, under Data Format
section select Date and MDY, click Finish.

Now XL should have converted your data to a date. You should be able to
change it to a different date format as needed.

 

[John C]

A1: 050180
A2: =DATE(LEFT(A1,2),MID(A1,3,2),RIGHT(A1,2)

 

[David Biddulph]

Are you sure that you've got the parameters of the date function in the
right order, John?
Wouldn't it be =DATE(RIGHT(A1,2),LEFT(A1,2),MID(A1,3,2))

 

[LauraNH]

Thank you Thank you Thank you!

First, you need to convert the data to an actual date. Try clicking
Data/Text To Columns. Select Delimited, click Next, ensure all checkboxes
under the Delimiters section are unchecked, click next, under Data Format
section select Date and MDY, click Finish.

Now XL should have converted your data to a date. You should be able to
change it to a different date format as needed.

 

[LauraNH]

One other question...once I converted all my current data to that format and
set all the following cells to have the date format of mm/dd/yy, when I then
entered a date, for example 010101 it came out as 08/27/27. What happened?

 

[Peo Sjoblom]

You would need an event macro to change numbers into date like that, to
Excel
010101 = 10,101 meaning 10,101 days since Jan 0 1900 thus Aug 27 1927

http://www.cpearson.com/excel/DateTimeEntry.htm

how to install macros


http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/install.htm

--


Regards,


Peo Sjoblom

 

[LauraNH]

Thank you. I will try that. So, in the future if I want my data to appear
as mm/dd/yy, how do I do that? I tried opening a new worksheet and
formatting the cells for that format and then tried entering the data and it
didn't work. I ask as I have more data to add to this worksheet...

 

[Dave Peterson]

If you don't want to use the macro, then you'll have to type in your entry so
that excel sees it as a date:

01/01/2001
(I like 4 digit years!)

 

[LauraNH]

I must be doing something wrong because neither of those suggestions worked.

 

[LauraNH]

Do you mean enter the data as 01012001 or type it in myself with the dashes?
Please forgive my ignorance.

 

[Dave Peterson]

Nope. You need the dashes or slashes.

Do you mean enter the data as 01012001 or type it in myself with the dashes?
Please forgive my ignorance.