Working with Excel date fields
If you type 12/25/04 into a cell in an Excel spreadsheet, Excel recognizes that you're entering a date and formats the cell appropriately (changing the year to the full 2004). If you type something such as December 25, 2004, Excel formats the cell with the date style it likes, which is 25-Dec-2004. To choose a different format, right-click the cell and choose Format Cells. In the dialog box, choose Date from the Category list on the left, and then choose a format from the Type list on the right. There are many options, which may include day of week, hour of day in 12-hour format or 24-hour format, etc.
To enter a date that always updates itself, use the TODAY and NOW functions. Choose Insert and Function. In the dialog box, open the drop-down menu near the top and select Date & Time. The Select A Function box shows 14 functions related to date and time. Choose the TODAY function to insert the current date and keep it current. Alternatively, you can choose NOW to do the same thing, but for both date and time.
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