Microsoft KB Archive/214327

= XL2000: Wrong Date Returned When You Enter Month and Digits =

Article ID: 214327

Article Last Modified on 9/25/2003

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Excel 2000 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q214327





SYMPTOMS
In Microsoft Excel, if you enter a month name that is spelled out or abbreviated and is followed by a space and one or two digits, the date that appears in the cell may be different from the date you expect.

For example, when you enter the following dates, Excel displays the following:   Date entered       Date that appears

Dec 1             December 1, * Dec 31            December 31, * Dec 32            December 1, 1932 December 99       December 1, 1999 =YEAR("Dec 2")    * =YEAR("Dec 33")   1933

* where is the current year in four-digit format.



CAUSE
When you enter a month and a one or two digit number, Microsoft Excel assumes that the digits represent the day of the month and that the date is in the current year. For example, "Dec 31" translates into December 31 in the current year.

However, if the digits exceed the number of days in the month, Microsoft Excel converts the digits to a year and assumes that the date is on the first of the month. For example, "Dec 32" translates into December 1, 1932.

NOTE: This same behavior applies when you enter text strings to represent dates into date and time worksheet functions.



RESOLUTION
To prevent problems from occurring when you enter dates, use the following guidelines:


 * When possible, enter dates more fully.

For example, instead of typing "Dec 31", type "Dec 31, 1998", "Dec 31, 98", "12/31/1998", or "31-Dec-1998". This prevents Microsoft Excel from misinterpreting the dates.
 * Format cells that contain dates so that they display not only the month and day, but also the year.

This helps you to more easily tell the difference between "Dec-31" and "31-Dec".
 * If you are importing a text file that contains dates, you can use the Text Import Wizard to apply proper date formatting to dates before you import them into Microsoft Excel.

Note that you should also check dates after you import them to make sure that they appear correctly.



MORE INFORMATION
For additional information about how Microsoft Excel works with two-digit years, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

214391 XL2000: How Microsoft Excel Works with Two-Digit Year Numbers

Additional query words: 2 digit 4 digits interpets interprets

Keywords: kbprb KB214327

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