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#1
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Date Formatting (*)
Hi,
I have a question about formatting dates with options that have the *. Why would you use it or not use it? There doesn't seem to be a lot of help for these options. Thanks. jbc |
#2
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Date Formatting (*)
This means that excel will use the windows regional settings for that format.
For me, the first sample in that format|cells|number tab|date category|type box looks like: *03/14/2001 I use this as my short date format in Windows regional settings: mm/dd/yyyy (I like leading 0's and a 4 digit year.) This setting doesn't mean much until the workbook is shared with others. If you use m/d/yy (no leading 0's and 2 digit years) for that windows setting and format a cell using that date format, you'd see: 3/14/01 But when I opened that same workbook on my pc, I'd see: 03/14/2001 This can be a problem if the column isn't wide enough to support all those characters. I may see ####'s. And if you protect the worksheet or I don't know how to widen the column, it can become a pain. But if you never open the workbook on another pc (and never change that windows setting), it won't mean much to you. jbc wrote: Hi, I have a question about formatting dates with options that have the *. Why would you use it or not use it? There doesn't seem to be a lot of help for these options. Thanks. jbc -- Dave Peterson |
#3
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Date Formatting (*)
Thanks Dave. Now it makes sense!
"Dave Peterson" wrote: This means that excel will use the windows regional settings for that format. For me, the first sample in that format|cells|number tab|date category|type box looks like: *03/14/2001 I use this as my short date format in Windows regional settings: mm/dd/yyyy (I like leading 0's and a 4 digit year.) This setting doesn't mean much until the workbook is shared with others. If you use m/d/yy (no leading 0's and 2 digit years) for that windows setting and format a cell using that date format, you'd see: 3/14/01 But when I opened that same workbook on my pc, I'd see: 03/14/2001 This can be a problem if the column isn't wide enough to support all those characters. I may see ####'s. And if you protect the worksheet or I don't know how to widen the column, it can become a pain. But if you never open the workbook on another pc (and never change that windows setting), it won't mean much to you. jbc wrote: Hi, I have a question about formatting dates with options that have the *. Why would you use it or not use it? There doesn't seem to be a lot of help for these options. Thanks. jbc -- Dave Peterson |
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