Excel TODAY Function
Summary
The Excel TODAY function returns the current date, updated continuously when a worksheet is changed or opened. The TODAY function takes no arguments. You can format the value returned by TODAY using any standard date format. If you need current date and time, use the NOW function.
Purpose
Get the current date
Return value
Valid Excel date
Syntax
=TODAY ()
Arguments
Version
Usage notes
The TODAY function takes no arguments, and returns the current date, updated whenever a worksheet is changed or opened. You can also use F9 to force the worksheet to recalculate and update the value.
- If you need a static date that won't change, you can enter the current date using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + ;
- If you need current date and time, use the NOW function.
Examples
Formatting results
The result of TODAY is a serial number representing a valid Excel date. You can format the value returned by TODAY using any standard date format, or use the TEXT function to build a text message that includes the current date.
TODAY formula examples
Dates in Excel are just serial numbers that begin on January 1, 1900. If you enter 1/1/1900 in Excel, and format the result with the "General" number format, you'll see the number 1.
This means that you can easily...
In the image shown, the current date is August 24, 2019.
Excel dates are serial numbers, so they can be manipulated with simple math operations. The TODAY function always returns the current date.
Inside the AND...
Dates in Excel are just serial numbers, formatted to display as dates. This means you can perform math operations on dates to calculate days in the future or past.
In the example shown, the date in the named range "...
The SUMIFS function can handle multiple criteria when calculating a sum. In this case, SUMIFS is configured with a sum range for all amounts:
=SUMIFS($D$5:$D$104
The first criteria specifies a criteria range that...
In the image shown, the current date is August 23, 2019.
Excel dates are serial numbers, so you can manipulate them with simple math operations. The TODAY function returns the current date on an on-going basis. Inside...
First, it's important to note first that Excel dates are simply large serial numbers. When we check for a date with a formula, we are looking for a specific large number, not text.
This formula is a basic example of...
In Excel, dates are simply serial numbers. In the standard date system for windows, based on the year 1900, where January 1, 1900 is the number 1. Dates are valid through 9999, which is serial number 2,958,465. This...
Note: the "current date" (i.e. today) for this example is May 31, 2016
With nested IF statements, the flow is from outer IF statements to inner IF statements, and the challenge is always to construct the flow so that...
The DATEDIF function (Date + Dif) is a bit of an anomaly in Excel. A compatibility function that comes originally from Lotus 1-2-3, Excel will not help supply arguments when the function is entered. However, DATEDIF...
In this example, we want to apply three different colors, depending on how much the original date varies from the current date:
Green if the variance is less than 3 days
Yellow if the variance is between 3 and 10...
Data validation rules are triggered when a user adds or changes a cell value.
The TODAY function returns today's date (recalculated an on on-going basis). The AND function takes multiple logical expressions and...
The AND function takes multiple arguments and returns TRUE only when all arguments return TRUE. The TODAY function returns the current date. Dates in Excel are simply large serial numbers, so you can create a new...
Note: This example assumes the start date will be provided as the first of the month. See below for a formula that will dynamically return the first day of the current month.
With the layout of grid as shown, the main...
Data validation rules are triggered when a user adds or changes a cell value.
This custom validation formula simply checks the year of any date against a hard-coded year value using the YEAR function.
When a user...
The TEXT function can apply number formatting to numbers just like Excel's built-in cell formats for dates, currency, fractions, and so on. However, unlike Excel's cell formatting, the TEXT function works inside a...
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