Problem with dates

  • Thread starter Thread starter Philippon
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Philippon

Hi,

I have got a spreadsheet that gives me weird dates.
Basically, if I put "=TODAY()" in a number format, I get 37984 in
normal spreadsheet. But in the special spreadsheet, it gives me 3652
!?!
Any date in this spreadsheet does not seem to have the same referenc
as in other spreadsheets.
Is that an Excel bug ?

Thx
 
One workbook was using a base year of 1900 and the other was using 1904.
(tools|options|calculation tab|1904 date system)

One way to add those four years back is to find an empty cell, put 1462 into
that cell.

Copy that cell.

Select your range that contains the dates. Edit|PasteSpecial|click Add (in the
operation box).

You may have to reformat the cell as a date (mine turned to a 5 digit number).
But it should work.

You may want to do it against a copy...just in case.

(I'm not sure which one you'll fix. You may want to edit|pastespecial|click
subtract.)

Most windows users use 1900 as the base date. Mac users (mostly??) use 1904 as
the base date.
 
There are two possible dates formats from which you may choose:
Either the date beginning 1/1/1900 or 1/1/1904.
Make a choice at Tools>Options>Calculation>*check/uncheck 1904 date box*>OK

As to your problem, it seems the two machines have different settings. The
serial dates you see are the number of days which have passed since the
beginning of the series (1/11900 or 1/1/1904)
 
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