Date problem

[Nellie Epps]

When I enter a date, a number I don't recognize appears
in the cell instead. Does anyone know how to resolve this
issue?

 

[Chip Pearson]

Nellie,

It could be one of two things.

If the number is very small, such as 0.0004, Excel is interpreting
a date like "7/8/2003" to mean 7 divided by 8 divided by 2003. To
change this go to the Tools menu, choose Options, then the
Transition tab. There, clear the checks next to Transition Formula
Evaluation and Transition Formula Entry.

If the number is large, such as 37810, change the format of the
cell to a date format. Select the cell, the go to the Format menu
and choose Cells. In that dialog, choose the Number tab and choose
Date in the category list, and choose the data format you want.


--
Cordially,
Chip Pearson
Microsoft MVP - Excel
Pearson Software Consulting, LLC
www.cpearson.com (e-mail address removed)

 

[Brett Stewart]

Nellie,

It is hard to know what you mean by not being able to recognise the number
without seeing an example. Can you provide an example of what you entered
and the result that Excel produces?

In the meantime, you could try the following:
* check the number formatting of the cell(s) that you are entering the data
into
* if it seems that the day and month are getting mixed up, may be worth
checking the Regional Settings on your computer to ensure that they are set
to the region for your part of the world. I am in Australia, and when we
set up PC's, it is sometimes necessary for us to change the Regional
Settings so that we get dates in the format that we require (dd/mm/yyyy) as
opposed to US-style dates (mm/dd/yyyy).

Good luck,
Brett