Unfortunately, when you combine text and formatted numbers, like dates, times, currency, etc., Excel doesn’t know how you want to display them, so it drops the number formatting. This is where the TEXT function is invaluable, because it allows you to force Excel to format the values the way you want by using a format code , like "MM/DD/YY ...

The DATE function returns the sequential serial number that represents a particular date.. Syntax: DATE(year,month,day) The DATE function syntax has the following arguments: Year Required.The value of the year argument can include one to four digits. Excel interprets the year argument according to the date system your computer is using. By default, Microsoft Excel for Windows uses the 1900 ...

For example, if you type a number that contains a slash mark (/) or hyphen (-), Excel may interpret it as a date and convert it to date format. If you want to type non-calculated values such as 10e5, 1 p, or 1-2, and you do not want Excel to convert the value to a built-in number format, you can apply the Text format to the cells, and then ...

When you try to undo a date or time format by selecting General in the Category list, Excel displays a number code. When you enter a date or time again, Excel displays the default date or time format. To enter a specific date or time format, such as January 2010, you can format it as text by selecting Text in the Category list.

Examples. Use the Format function in an expression You can use Format wherever you can use expressions. For example, you can use it in a query as part of a field alias, or in the Control Source property of a text box on a form or a report. The following examples shows an expression you might use in a report's Filter property to limit the output to records from the previous week.

Excel might format it as "2-Feb". If you change your date setting in Control Panel, the default date format in Excel will change accordingly. If you don’t like the default date format, you can choose another date format in Excel, such as "February 2, 2012" or "2/2/12". You can also create your own custom format in Excel desktop.

Converts a date in the form of text to a serial number. DAY function. Converts a serial number to a day of the month. DAYS function. Returns the number of days between two dates. DAYS360 function. Calculates the number of days between two dates based on a 360-day year. EDATE function. Returns the serial number of the date that is the indicated ...

To convert a text date in a cell to a serial number, use the DATEVALUE function. Then copy the formula, select the cells that contain the text dates, and use Paste Special to apply a date format to them. Follow these steps: Select a blank cell and verify that its number format is General.

To display numbers in scientific notation, use one of the exponent codes in the number format code — for example, E–, E+, e–, or e+. If a number format code section contains a zero (0) or number sign (#) to the right of an exponent code, Excel displays the number in scientific notation and inserts an "E" or "e".

Format. Description. General. The default number format that Excel applies when you type a number. For the most part, numbers that are formatted with the General format are displayed just the way you type them. However, if the cell is not wide enough to show the entire number, the General format rounds the numbers with decimals. The General number format also uses scientific (exponential ...