Is there a way to force Excel to use only 4 digit years?
I am reading in text files that have four digit years but Excel converts them to 2 digits.
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Force 4 digit year (sr1)
Home » Forums » AskWoody support » Productivity software by function » MS Excel and spreadsheet help » Force 4 digit year (sr1)
- This topic has 1 reply, 2 voices, and was last updated 23 years, 10 months ago.
AuthorTopicWSBillSutterfield
AskWoody LoungerJuly 19, 2001 at 3:17 pm #358189Viewing 0 reply threadsAuthorReplies-
H. Legare Coleman
AskWoody PlusJuly 19, 2001 at 3:31 pm #533787Excel dates are actually stored as the number of days since December 31, 1899. If you enter a four digit year, then Excel will convert it to that value. If you enter a two digit year, then Excel will assume the other two digits (what it assumes depends on which version you have), and then convert it to the number of days since 12/31/1899. Excel does not keep the year as either two or four digits.
What you are probably having a problem with is that the default date display format only displays two digits for the year. If you have a cell that contains a date, then you can select that cell, and then select Cells from the Format menu. In the Dialog box, select Date in the category list, and then select the date format you like from the list. There should be at least one with four digit year. If you don’t see a format that you like, then select Custom in the category list and create a format that displays it the way you want (if you don’t know how, tell us what format you want and we can give you the format to get it).
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