Have you ever encountered a file with dates that just won’t give you an answer when you try to calculate days between them? One possible reason is that the date that appears to be a date is actually considered text in Excel. To know for sure, look at the justification. If the date is left-justified, it’s considered text. However, if it’s right-justified, Excel recognizes it as a date.
So, how do you turn text into a date? You can use the DateValue function. Simply type in “DateValue” and select the cells with the dates you want to convert. Excel will return a string of numbers, which is actually a serial number representing the date. To make it more readable, go to the Home tab and select a date format.
If you don’t want to add an extra column for DateValue, you can use the Text to Columns feature. Simply select the cells you want to convert, go to the Data tab, and select “Text to Columns.” In step three of the wizard, select “Date” as the column data format, and Excel will recognize the text as a date.
These tips will help you change dates that look like text into dates that Excel can recognize. By using the DateValue function and the Text to Columns feature, you can save time and avoid errors in your calculations.