How do you format dates in an Excel spreadsheet?

Answer 1

You can enter dates by typing them in. You can enter today's date by pressing and holding the Ctrl key and then pressing the ; key. The function TODAY() can be used to show today's date. The DATE function can be used to display any date, by specifying the year, month and day as numbers like this:

=DATE(1980,12,25)

Answer 2

You didn't mention where you were and I know date formats vary from country to country. The date format I use is most common in the US, but I'll explain how you can change it if you need to.

If the cell is previously unused or "fresh", enter the date information in this format "mm/dd/yy" and the cell will automatically format into a date format. If it is not a format you use, you can change it as follows:

1.) Place cursor at cell you wish to format

2.) Click on "Format" (5th command at the top of the screen--"File" "Edit" "View," etc)

3.) Click on "Cells" (a pop up screen will appear in the middle of the screen)

4.) Under the "Category" tab, click on "Date" and then select the format you wish to use from the scroll window on the right.

5.) Click on "OK"

(Note: You can get to this same area by right-clicking your mouse and selecting "Format Cells" from the list, about midway down.)

If you need to format more than one cell, click (and hold) on the first cell with your mouse, then drag over the area while holding down the button. When you've highlighted all the cells you want to format, let go of the button and repeat steps above.

To format a whole column or row at once, click on the letter of the column, or number of the row. To format the whole worksheet, click on the empty space at the cross-section of column "A" and Row "1." (The whole worksheet will be highlighted.) Repeat steps above.