Converting Text Dates to Proper Dates in Excel the Easy Way
From time to time you might receive an Excel spreadsheet that has been created by an application but it has output the dates in its own text format instead of being stored as an actual date value. I’ve seen instances where the time has been placed before the date which would leave many to think that the only way to reconstruct a proper timestamp is to fluff around with string formulae to find and extract the date and time components and join them all back together (assuming the formatting is consistent)
Don’t waste your time doing that, there’s an easier way!
All you need to do is use the DATEVALUE function and point it at the cell you want to convert to an actual timestamp value that can be used in other calculations. Excel will work out the rest for you and return the result as a serial number representing the date and time (which you can then format however you wish).
Boydo
My name is Boyd and I’m a Service Management Specialist with a knack for operational data gathering, transformation, analysis and reporting.
In 2012, I obtained my Masters of Science in Information Technology through the University of New South Wales @ The Australia Defence Force Academy (UNSW@ADFA).
I was also part of an online community known as the Panasonic Insider Crew in the capacity of “Insider Guru” for Panasonic Australia where I interacted with other tech enthusiasts and find out more about Panasonic's latest gadgets.
I love technology, gadgets, and the Internet and maintain a keen interest in these areas locally, nationally, and globally. I hope by sharing my views on these topics that people will receive an honest point of view from someone with a genuine interest in these topics.
I have also written and edited articles for Neowin - you can check out my articles over @ https://www.neowin.net/news/poster/boyd_chan
I hope you enjoy reading my blog!
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