How to turn off the automatic date feature in Excel 2003

[Guest]

If you enter a number that is formated like XXXX-XX-XX or
XX-XX-XX or XX-XX-XXXX ect. Excel automatically changes
the formating for the cell from "numbers, general"
to "numbers, date" you can reformat the cell but Excel
automatically loads a number that some how corresponds to
the date that it automatically entered. I would like to
turn OFF this feature. Excel 97 and 2000 do not do this.

 

[Don Guillett]

There could be times when you want it so why not just format as text first
or use ' before entries

 

[Jonathan Rynd]

Excel automatically loads a number that some how corresponds to
the date that it automatically entered.

It's the number of days since Jan 1, 1900.

I would like to
turn OFF this feature. Excel 97 and 2000 do not do this.

My copy of Excel 2000 does this.

 

[Jeff]

I am not sure when I would want this feature, but your
solutions do work. Thanks for the help.

 

[Harlan Grove]

There could be times when you want it . . .

OK, but there could be times when I want automatic or manual recalculation, but
Excel doesn't foist one but not the other on me. It's a mystery why Excel makes
it impossible to disable automatic formatting . . . unless you accept my own
theory that there's more than a little sadism in Excel's design.

 

[Don Guillett]

I suspect that the last line of your statement is true but I want to say it
very softly.

 

[Norman Harker]

Hi Harlan!

Re: "unless you accept my own theory that there's more than a little
sadism in Excel's design"

My theory is that they have a Pythonesque humour which goes a bit
beyond sadism. How else do you explain the infliction of "Clippy" on
us and then (in first version) make it so difficult to get rid of it.

--
Regards
Norman Harker MVP (Excel)
Sydney, Australia
(e-mail address removed)
Excel and Word Function Lists (Classifications, Syntax and Arguments)
available free to good homes.

 

[Harlan Grove]

...
...

My theory is that they have a Pythonesque humour which goes a bit
beyond sadism. How else do you explain the infliction of "Clippy" on
us and then (in first version) make it so difficult to get rid of it.

...

If there were a sense of humor behind it, you could be right.

It wasn't so difficult to get rid of - all it took was deleting the files that
provided the pesonas. I can't remember their extensions because it's been so
long since I purged 'em.

 

[Don Guillett]

But, the girls think he is cute & sexy. Wish they like me like that.