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I have a column of dates in my spreadsheet. I custom formatted them to YYYYMMDD, but now I want to take that date format and convert it to text. When I simply select Text for that field, it converts the dates to numerical dates (i.e., 2/17/2015 turns into 42052). I want it to keep its format, but as a text field. Is there any formula to convert an already formatted date field to a text field without losing its formatting integrity?
I'd appreciate any help on this issue.
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Select the dates.
Data>Text to Columns>Next>Next>Column Format...choose Text>OK
With cells still selected Copy>Paste Special>Value>OK>Esc
Gord
Missed the YYYYMMDD part.
Got zeroed in on 2/17/2015
Ignore my offerings please.
Gord
Dates in Excel are number: they are the serial number of the date starting with 0 at 1900.
Formatting does not change how a date is stored, it only changes the way it is displayed.
If B1 has a date (of any format) then the formula =TEXT(B1,"yyyymmdd") will display that date as text in the form yyyymmdd.
best wishes