Chapter 3: Date and Time Formulas

In This Chapter

arrow.png Understanding dates and times in Excel

arrow.png Creating formulas that calculate elapsed dates and times

arrow.png Using the Date functions

arrow.png Using the Time functions

Creating formulas that use dates and times can be a little confusing if you don’t have a good understanding of how Excel treats these types of values. After you’re equipped with this understanding, you can begin to make good use of the many Date and Time functions that the program offers.

This chapter begins with a quick overview of date and time numbers in Excel and how you can use them to build simple formulas that calculate differences between elapsed dates and times. The chapter goes on to survey Excel built-in Date and Time functions, including the Date functions that are available after you’ve installed and activated the Analysis ToolPak add-in.

Understanding Dates and Times

Excel doesn’t treat the dates and times that you enter in the cells of your worksheet as simple text entries. (For more information on inputting numbers in a spreadsheet, see Book II, Chapter 1.) Any entry ...

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