Excel is a versatile software that offers a wide range of functionalities, including handling dates and times. In this article, we will explore the most common date/time formulas in Excel, including TODAY, NOW, DATE, and TIME, and how to use them to make your work easier.
TODAY Formula
The TODAY formula is a simple and useful formula used to display the current date. It can be used in a cell to update automatically to the current date. Here’s an example:
=TODAY()
When entered into a cell, the formula would display the current date. This formula does not require any arguments and updates automatically.
NOW Formula
The NOW formula is similar to the TODAY formula but displays the current date and time. It’s a handy formula for tracking the date and time of activities in real-time. Here’s an example:
=NOW()
When entered into a cell, the formula would display the current date and time. This formula does not require any arguments and updates automatically.
DATE Formula
The DATE formula is used to create a date by specifying the year, month, and day. It’s a useful formula when you need to create a date that is not today. Here’s an example:
=DATE(2023;2;18)
This formula would create a date of February 18th, 2023. The first argument is the year, the second is the month, and the third is the day. You can replace the arguments with cell references to create dates based on other cells.
TIME Formula
The TIME formula is used to create a time by specifying the hours, minutes, and seconds. It’s a useful formula when you need to create a time that is not now. Here’s an example:
=TIME(15;30;0)
This formula would create a time of 3:30 PM. The first argument is the hour, the second is the minute, and the third is the second. You can replace the arguments with cell references to create times based on other cells.
Date and Time Arithmetic
Excel also offers several arithmetic operations that can be performed on dates and times, including adding and subtracting dates and times. For example, if you want to calculate the number of days between two dates, you can use the simple formula:
=End_Date-Start_Date
You can also add or subtract a specified number of days, months, or years from a date using the DATE formula, for example:
=DATE(YEAR(B2)+1;MONTH(B2)+7;DAY(B2))
This formula would add one year and 7 months to the date in the “TODAY()” cell in B2.
