How to Remove Year from Date in Excel

Are you tired of seeing the year in your Excel spreadsheet’s date column? Removing the year from a date can give your data a cleaner and more organized appearance. However, manually deleting the year from each cell can be a tedious and time-consuming task. Luckily, Microsoft Excel offers simple and efficient solutions to handle this problem. In this blog post, we will guide you through different methods on how to remove the year from the date in Excel quickly and easily.

Using the Text Function to Remove Year from Date in Excel

If you want to remove the year from a date in Excel, you can use the Text function. This function is useful for customizing the date format to exclude the year. Here is how to use the Text function.

Step 1:

Select the cell that contains the date you want to edit.

Step 2:

Type the formula =Text(Cell Reference,”MM/DD”) in the formula bar, replacing “Cell Reference” with the cell reference of the date you want to edit. The “MM/DD” represents the format you want the date to be in.

Step 3:

Press Enter. The date will now display without the year.

Using the Find and Replace Feature to Remove Year from Date in Excel

The Find and Replace feature in Excel can be used to remove the year from all dates in a column at once. This method is helpful when you have a long list of dates that you want to modify without typing a formula for each cell. Here is how to use the Find and Replace feature.

Step 1:

Select the column that contains the dates you want to modify.

Step 2:

Press Ctrl + H on your keyboard or go to Home tab > Find and Select > Replace.

Step 3:

In the Find What field, type “*19??*” (without quotes) for dates containing the year 1900s, or “*20??*” for dates containing the year 2000s, then click Replace All. The question marks represent the digits of the year you want to delete.

Step 4:

Press OK, and all dates in the selected column with the year will be removed.

Using Custom Format to Remove Year from Date in Excel

You can use the custom format feature in Excel to create a custom date format that excludes the year. This is useful when you have a large amount of data that you want to format all at once, and it allows you to retain the original date format while omitting the year. Here’s how:

Step 1:

Select the cell you want to format.

Step 2:

Right-click on the cell and select Format Cells.

Step 3:

In the Number tab of the Format Cells dialog box, select Custom under Category.

Step 4:

In the Type field, type the format you want to apply to the cell. For example, you could use “MM/DD” to display only the month and day.

Step 5:

Click OK to apply the formatting to the cell. The date will now display in the custom format without the year.

Removing the year from a date in Excel is a simple and useful technique that can make your data easier to read and analyze. By using the Text function, Find and Replace feature, or custom format, removing the year on dates can be done quickly and efficiently. Give these methods a try and see how they can help improve your Excel data processing skills.

How to Change Date Format in Excel

Excel provides a wide range of default date formats, including short date, long date, and custom date formats. Changing the date format can help improve data clarity and consistency. Here’s how to change the date format in Excel.

Step 1:

Select the cell or range of cells that you want to change the format for.

Step 2:

Go to the Home tab and click on the Number format button in the Number group.

Step 3:

From the drop-down menu, choose a date format that suits your needs.

How to Add or Subtract Dates in Excel

Excel also offers a range of built-in functions to help you add or subtract dates from a given cell. This is useful when calculating differences between dates or when you need to forecast future dates for a project. Here’s how to add or subtract dates in Excel.

Step 1:

Select the cell where you want to add or subtract a date.

Step 2:

Type the formula =Cell Reference+(Number of Days) in the formula bar, replacing “Cell Reference” with the reference of the cell you want to add to, and “Number of Days” with the number of days to add.

Step 3:

Press Enter. The new date will be displayed in the selected cell.

How to Use Fill Handle to Auto-Complete Dates in Excel

The Fill Handle is a powerful tool in Excel that allows you to quickly fill a series of cells with dates. This is useful when you need to create a range of dates for a project or task. Here’s how to use the Fill Handle to auto-complete dates in Excel.

Step 1:

Type the first date in the series of dates you want to create.

Step 2:

Select the cell that contains the date you want to fill.

Step 3:

Hover over the bottom right corner of the selected cell until the Fill Handle appears.

Step 4:

Click and drag the Fill Handle down to the cells where you want to add dates. Release the mouse button to complete the series.

Wrap Up

Removing the year from a date in Excel is just one of many powerful tools that Microsoft Excel offers to help you work more efficiently and accurately. By taking advantage of the different features and functions available in Excel, you can quickly and easily improve your data-processing skills, saving both time and effort. Hopefully, this tutorial has helped you gain more insight into how to remove year from a date in Excel, as well as other useful Excel functions.

FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions about working with dates in Excel.

1. Can I remove the time from a date in Excel?

Yes, you can use similar techniques to remove the time from a date in Excel. To remove the time, use a custom date format that only displays the date. Alternatively, you can use the Text function to extract only the date portion of the cell and reformat it without the time.

2. How do I change the date format for an entire spreadsheet?

You can change the date format for an entire spreadsheet by selecting all the cells in the sheet (click on the upper-left corner of the sheet), then clicking on the Number format button. Choose the desired date format from the drop-down menu.

3. Can I add hours or minutes to a date in Excel?

Yes, you can use the same formula as adding or subtracting days, but replace the “Number of Days” with the number of hours or minutes you want to add or subtract. For example, to add 2 hours to a date in cell A1, you can use the formula =A1+(2/24).

4. How do I auto-update dates in Excel?

To auto-update dates in Excel, you can use the TODAY or NOW function. TODAY function returns the current date, while the NOW function returns the current date and time. To use either function, simply type the function name in the cell and press Enter. The function will automatically update to the current date and time each time the worksheet recalculates.

5. How do I remove the 1900 date system in Excel?

You can turn off the 1900 date system in Excel by going to File > Options > Advanced, and under the “When calculating this workbook” section, uncheck the “Use 1904 date system” option. Keep in mind that this may affect the dates in your existing workbook, so make sure to create a backup copy first.