A common issue. Do it this way:

=IF($C$6="","",$C$6)

Regards,
Fred

"Malcolm" wrote in message
...
I have linked two columns on a worksheet so that when I type in the date in
cell C6 it also appears in cell J6. I entered =$C$6 in J6, and this works
except sometimes I dont need to use the date cells. My problem is in cell
J6
the date appears as 1/0/00 until I type the date into cell C6. What am I
doing wrong?
Thanks,
Malcolm