I use Excel for only the simplist tasks. There is a reason my business name
is Wordsmith, not Numbersmith.

One of the things I use it (Excel 2007) for is a simple spreadsheet with
work done, date, and time spent in three columns. The date column has become
a problem. I key in 7/5/2007, and it taken to converting this to just Jul-07.
I need it to stay the way I keyed it and do not understand why it has started
making this unwanted conversion. I can't get it to hold by typing in the date
in text, ie, July 5, 2007. It makes the same conversion. How do I get it to
stop deciding it knows better what I want than I do?

I have been using this spreadsheet for several months, starting in version
2003. I save it as a 97-03 compatible file because I send it to a client at
the end of each month.

This feature of the program deciding it knows best is not helpful. I need to
see the day as well as month and year, and that is what I type. All I want is
for Excel to leave what I type alone. So far as I know, I have not told it to
do anything differently. It just started with this month's spreadsheet, and I
don't even know what this kind of conversion is called or why anyone would
ever want such a thing.

Thanks in advance.