{"id":538,"date":"2019-02-13T13:53:42","date_gmt":"2019-02-13T05:53:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/?p=538"},"modified":"2026-08-27T16:16:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T08:16:08","slug":"date-format-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/date-format-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Techniques for Converting Text Date Formats"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p>Sometimes dates exported from third-party software are not true dates, causing charting problems \u2014 how can this be resolved?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-539\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B.png?resize=304%2C349&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"304\" height=\"349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B.png?w=304&amp;ssl=1 304w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B.png?resize=261%2C300&amp;ssl=1 261w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B.png?resize=230%2C264&amp;ssl=1 230w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 304px) 100vw, 304px\" \/><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<style>\r\n\t\t\t\t<style>\r\n#wpsm_accordion_543 .wpsm_panel-heading{\r\n\tpadding:0px !important;\r\n}\r\n#wpsm_accordion_543 .wpsm_panel-title {\r\n\tmargin:0px !important; \r\n\ttext-transform:none !important;\r\n\tline-height: 1 !important;\r\n}\r\n#wpsm_accordion_543 .wpsm_panel-title a{\r\n\ttext-decoration:none;\r\n\toverflow:hidden;\r\n\tdisplay:block;\r\n\tpadding:0px;\r\n\tfont-size: 18px !important;\r\n\tfont-family: Open Sans !important;\r\n\tcolor:#000000 !important;\r\n\tborder-bottom:0px !important;\r\n}\r\n\r\n#wpsm_accordion_543 .wpsm_panel-title a:focus {\r\noutline: 0px !important;\r\n}\r\n\r\n#wpsm_accordion_543 .wpsm_panel-title a:hover, #wpsm_accordion_543 .wpsm_panel-title a:focus {\r\n\tcolor:#000000 !important;\r\n}\r\n#wpsm_accordion_543 .acc-a{\r\n\tcolor: #000000 !important;\r\n\tbackground-color:#e8e8e8 !important;\r\n\tborder-color: #ddd;\r\n}\r\n#wpsm_accordion_543 .wpsm_panel-default > .wpsm_panel-heading{\r\n\tcolor: #000000 !important;\r\n\tbackground-color: #e8e8e8 !important;\r\n\tborder-color: #e8e8e8 !important;\r\n\tborder-top-left-radius: 0px;\r\n\tborder-top-right-radius: 0px;\r\n}\r\n#wpsm_accordion_543 .wpsm_panel-default {\r\n\t\tborder:1px solid transparent !important;\r\n\t}\r\n#wpsm_accordion_543 {\r\n\tmargin-bottom: 20px;\r\n\toverflow: hidden;\r\n\tfloat: none;\r\n\twidth: 100%;\r\n\tdisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n#wpsm_accordion_543 .ac_title_class{\r\n\tdisplay: block;\r\n\tpadding-top: 12px;\r\n\tpadding-bottom: 12px;\r\n\tpadding-left: 15px;\r\n\tpadding-right: 15px;\r\n}\r\n#wpsm_accordion_543  .wpsm_panel {\r\n\toverflow:hidden;\r\n\t-webkit-box-shadow: 0 0px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, .05);\r\n\tbox-shadow: 0 0px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, .05);\r\n\t\tborder-radius: 4px;\r\n\t}\r\n#wpsm_accordion_543  .wpsm_panel + .wpsm_panel {\r\n\t\tmargin-top: 5px;\r\n\t}\r\n#wpsm_accordion_543  .wpsm_panel-body{\r\n\tbackground-color:#ffffff !important;\r\n\tcolor:#000000 !important;\r\n\tborder-top-color: #e8e8e8 !important;\r\n\tfont-size:16px !important;\r\n\tfont-family: Open Sans !important;\r\n\toverflow: hidden;\r\n\t\tborder: 2px solid #e8e8e8 !important;\r\n\t}\r\n\r\n#wpsm_accordion_543 .ac_open_cl_icon{\r\n\tbackground-color:#e8e8e8 !important;\r\n\tcolor: #000000 !important;\r\n\tfloat:right !important;\r\n\tpadding-top: 12px !important;\r\n\tpadding-bottom: 12px !important;\r\n\tline-height: 1.0 !important;\r\n\tpadding-left: 15px !important;\r\n\tpadding-right: 15px !important;\r\n\tdisplay: inline-block !important;\r\n}\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t<\/style>\t\r\n\t\t\t<\/style>\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wpsm_panel-group\" id=\"wpsm_accordion_543\" >\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Inner panel Start -->\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wpsm_panel wpsm_panel-default\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wpsm_panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" >\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  <h4 class=\"wpsm_panel-title\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a  class=\"\"  data-toggle=\"collapse\" data-parent=\"#wpsm_accordion_543 \" href=\"javascript:void(0)\" data-target=\"#ac_543_collapse1\" onclick=\"do_resize()\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"ac_open_cl_icon fa fa-minus\"><\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"ac_title_class\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span style=\"margin-right:6px;\" class=\"fa fa-question-circle\"><\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIdentify\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  <\/h4>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"ac_543_collapse1\" class=\"wpsm_panel-collapse collapse in\"  >\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  <div class=\"wpsm_panel-body\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul>\r\n \t<li>First, identify whether the date data in Excel are in date format or text format. You can check the cell format to determine this.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>If you find that the cell's Short Date and Long Date formats are the same, then the cell<b>is not<\/b>in date format and cannot be used for any chronological\/date-sequence analysis; we need to make the following adjustments.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-540\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B1.png?resize=1025%2C288&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1025\" height=\"288\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B1.png?w=1025&amp;ssl=1 1025w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B1.png?resize=300%2C84&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B1.png?resize=768%2C216&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B1.png?resize=1024%2C288&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B1.png?resize=830%2C233&amp;ssl=1 830w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B1.png?resize=230%2C65&amp;ssl=1 230w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B1.png?resize=350%2C98&amp;ssl=1 350w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B1.png?resize=480%2C135&amp;ssl=1 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t  <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Inner panel End -->\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Inner panel Start -->\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wpsm_panel wpsm_panel-default\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wpsm_panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" >\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  <h4 class=\"wpsm_panel-title\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a  class=\"collapsed\"  data-toggle=\"collapse\" data-parent=\"#wpsm_accordion_543 \" href=\"javascript:void(0)\" data-target=\"#ac_543_collapse2\" onclick=\"do_resize()\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"ac_open_cl_icon fa fa-plus\"><\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"ac_title_class\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span style=\"margin-right:6px;\" class=\"fa fa-adjust\"><\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMethod 1: Use the DATEVALUE function\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  <\/h4>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"ac_543_collapse2\" class=\"wpsm_panel-collapse collapse\"  >\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  <div class=\"wpsm_panel-body\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ol>\r\n \t<li>The DATEVALUE function converts dates stored as text into the serial number Excel recognizes as a date<\/li>\r\n \t<li>\u4f8b\u5982\uff0c\u516c\u5f0f=DATEVALUE(\"1\/1\/2008\")\u8fd4\u56de39448\uff0c\u5373\u65e5\u671f2008-1-1\u7684\u5e8f\u5217\u865f<\/li>\r\n \t<li><b>Please note,<\/b><b>computer<\/b><b>system date settings may cause<\/b><b>DATEVALUE<\/b><b>the function's result may differ from this example.<\/b><\/li>\r\n \t<li>For example, if colleague A's computer system date format is month-day-year, the formula =DATEVALUE(\"3\/4\/2008\") returns March 4, 2008. But if the same Excel file is opened on colleague B's computer and B's system date format is day-month-year, the formula =DATEVALUE(\"3\/4\/2008\") will return April 3, 2008.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\u00a0\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/support.office.com\/zh-tw\/article\/datevalue-%E5%87%BD%E6%95%B8-df8b07d4-7761-4a93-bc33-b7471bbff252\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Microsoft's official explanation of DATEVALUE<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t  <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Inner panel End -->\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Inner panel Start -->\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wpsm_panel wpsm_panel-default\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wpsm_panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" >\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  <h4 class=\"wpsm_panel-title\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a  class=\"collapsed\"  data-toggle=\"collapse\" data-parent=\"#wpsm_accordion_543 \" href=\"javascript:void(0)\" data-target=\"#ac_543_collapse3\" onclick=\"do_resize()\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"ac_open_cl_icon fa fa-plus\"><\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"ac_title_class\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span style=\"margin-right:6px;\" class=\"fa fa-adjust\"><\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMethod 2: Use the Text to Columns feature\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  <\/h4>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"ac_543_collapse3\" class=\"wpsm_panel-collapse collapse\"  >\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  <div class=\"wpsm_panel-body\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ol>\r\n \t<li>Select the date cells that are formatted as text<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Click Data \u21d2 Data Tools \u21d2 Text to Columns<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Choose Delimited \u21d2 Next \u21d2 leave all options unchecked<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Column date format: Date: YMD (depending on the original date's year-month-day order)<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Finish<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-542\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B3.png?resize=1036%2C421&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1036\" height=\"421\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B3.png?w=1036&amp;ssl=1 1036w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B3.png?resize=300%2C122&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B3.png?resize=768%2C312&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B3.png?resize=1024%2C416&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B3.png?resize=830%2C337&amp;ssl=1 830w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B3.png?resize=230%2C93&amp;ssl=1 230w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B3.png?resize=350%2C142&amp;ssl=1 350w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E8%BD%89%E6%8F%9B3.png?resize=480%2C195&amp;ssl=1 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t  <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Inner panel End -->\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n\t\r\n\t\tfunction do_resize(){\r\n\r\n\t\t\tvar width=jQuery( '.wpsm_panel .wpsm_panel-body iframe' ).width();\r\n\t\t\tvar height=jQuery( '.wpsm_panel .wpsm_panel-body iframe' ).height();\r\n\r\n\t\t\tvar toggleSize = true;\r\n\t\t\tjQuery('iframe').animate({\r\n\t\t\t    width: toggleSize ? width : 640,\r\n\t\t\t    height: toggleSize ? height : 360\r\n\t\t\t  }, 250);\r\n\r\n\t\t\t  toggleSize = !toggleSize;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t\t\r\n<\/script>\t\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sometimes dates exported from third-party software are not true dates, causing charting problems \u2014 how can this be resolved? &nbsp;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3791,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8,20],"tags":[50,271,53,51,52],"class_list":["post-538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-excel","category-onlinesupport","tag-datevalue","tag-charts","tag-text-to-columns","tag-date","tag-time"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/new_covers_batch_03_1809_excel.jpg?fit=816%2C1088&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":746,"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538\/revisions\/746"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}