How to Remove Time from Date in Excel

If you often find yourself needing to remove time from a date in Excel, you’re not alone. This task can be tricky, especially if you’re dealing with a large amount of data. Luckily, Microsoft Excel offers a few different methods for removing time from dates, whether you’re working with a single cell or an entire column of data. In this blog post, we’ll walk you through the process step-by-step, so you can get back to analyzing your data without any unnecessary time components.

What is Time in Excel, and Why Do You Want to Remove It?

When you input a date/time value in Excel, it gets stored as a serial number, with the date being the whole number and the time being the decimal part. For example, July 5th, 2022, at 3 PM would be represented as 44520.625. Sometimes you may want to remove the time component from a date, especially if you’re doing calculations or trying to group data by date. This can be confusing, so we’ll walk you through it step by step.

Method 1: Change Formatting

The easiest way to remove the time component from a date is by changing the formatting directly in the cell. This method works well if you only need to do it for one or two cells.

1. Select the cell or cells you want to format.
2. Right-click, and select “Format Cells.”
3. In the “Format Cells” dialog box, select “Custom.”
4. Type “mm/dd/yyyy” in the “Type” field.
5. Click “OK.”

Your date value will now display without the time component.

Method 2: Using the INT Function

If you have a column full of date/time values and you want to remove the time component for the entire column, you’ll need to use a formula. The INT function will round down any decimal values in the date/time serial number, effectively removing the time component.

1. Insert a new column next to the column with the date/time values.
2. In the first row of the new column, type “=(INT(A1))”
3. Press enter.
4. Drag the formula down to the rest of the cells in the column.
5. Select the new column you just created and copy it.
6. Right-click on the original column with the date/time values and select “Paste Special.”
7. Choose “Values” from the paste special dialogue box and click “OK.”

Method 3: Using the TEXT Function

If you want to remove the time component from a date and also change the format to something specific, you can use the TEXT function.

1. Insert a new column next to the column with the date/time values.
2. In the first row of the new column, type “=TEXT(A1, “mm/dd/yyyy”)”. Note that you can replace “mm/dd/yyyy” with any date format you prefer.
3. Press enter.
4. Drag the formula down to the rest of the cells in the column.
5. Select the new column you just created and copy it.
6. Right-click on the original column with the date/time values and select “Paste Special.”
7. Choose “Values” from the paste special dialogue box and click “OK.”

Now you know how to remove the time from a date in Excel using three different methods. Whether you’re working with one cell or an entire column, these techniques will help you organize and analyze your data more effectively.

Why You Should Remove Time from Dates in Excel

There are times when it’s important to exclude the time component in your date entries. For instance, if you’re analyzing sales data to determine monthly earnings or performance, it makes more sense to group the sales by day rather than by time. That way, you can easily visualize which days of the month led to the highest sales.

You may also need to remove time when calculating differences between two dates. For example, suppose you want to determine the number of days between two dates. Without removing the time, Excel will include the incomplete days when computing the difference. This miscalculation can result in inaccurate figures, which can mislead in making important decisions.

Pro Tips for Date and Time Management in Excel

Excel offers tools to work with and analyze date and time data. Learning them can improve your workflow and help you draw insights from your data effectively.

Sorting by Dates

You can sort dates using the “Sort and Filter” option. Select your date column and click on the “Sort Ascending” or “Sort Descending” buttons. Excel automatically finds the earliest or most recent date and arranges the rest of the entries in order.

Using Formulas to Analyze Time

Excel offers time formulas that help you compute time differences, add or subtract time frames, and convert between time units. Utilizing these formulas can save you a lot of time when doing calculations.

Using Conditional Formatting for Dates

Highlight important dates with conditional formatting to make them stand out. For instance, if you’re tracking sales data, highlight a cell in red that indicates when you achieved your monthly sales target. Excel can detect and highlight dates that meet specific criteria that you’ve set.

Removing time from dates in Excel is something that every user will need to do at some point. With the three methods discussed, you’ll be able to clean up your data quickly and easily. Also, take a few extra minutes to familiarize yourself with Excel’s other powerful date and time management tools and impress your colleagues with your skills.

FAQs

Here are answers to some common questions about removing time from dates in Excel:

Can I remove time from a date in an entire spreadsheet?

Yes, it’s possible. Create a new column next to the column with dates that include time, and select the entire column with the new dates and copy it. Right-click the original column and choose “Paste Special.” Then select “Values” and “Add” in the paste special dialogue box, and click “OK.” This will paste the new dates without the time values over the old dates with the time values.

Can I change the format of a date without removing the time component?

Yes, you can. Go to “Format Cells” and choose the format you prefer. Excel has several preset formats for date and time data or select the “Custom” option to enter your own date format.

How can I convert a column of text dates to date values in Excel?

Select the column with the text dates and go to “Data” > “Text to Columns.” In the “Text to Columns Wizard,” choose “Delimited” and click “Next.” In the next window, choose the delimiter(s) that separate the date information and click “Next.” Set the data format to “Date” and choose the date format that matches the date entries in the “Column Data Format” section. Click “Finish.”

Can Excel determine how many working days there are between two dates?

Yes, you can create a formula that uses the NETWORKDAYS function in Excel. The function determines the number of working days between two dates, excluding weekends and holidays. Type “=NETWORKDAYS(start_date, end_date)” to get the number of working days between two dates.

How do I calculate time differences in Excel?

You can subtract one time from another in Excel to calculate the difference between these two times. First, ensure the time values are in a recognizable format. Then simply subtract the earlier time from the later, and the result will be the difference between the start and end time. For example, if the start time is in cell A1 and the end time is in cell A2, type “=A2-A1” in another cell, and press “Enter.”