Excel Date Showing as Number? 4 Ways to Stop It

Keep Excel up to date to prevent this issue from appearing

3 min. read

Updated onOctober 10, 2023

updated onOctober 10, 2023

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Key notes

If Excel date showing as number your formulas might not work, and maintaining your data can become more complex.

This can be a big problem and negatively impact your workflow, so in today’s guide, we will show you ways to fix this issue.

Why are my dates showing as numbers in Excel?

How do I stop Excel from formatting dates into numbers?

We recommend you follow these preliminary checks before proceeding with any steps:

1. Convert the cell formatting

Changing the cell format allows you to type dates in the cells without them appearing as numbers. It changes the Excel converting rules. If thespreadsheet arrow is not working in Excel, check l our guide for some fixes.

2. Insert a sign

The above combination will quickly enter the current date in your worksheet without converting it to a number.

3. Use Find & Replace

Using the Find and Replace function allows you to replace the decimal point with a slash, prompting Excel to reevaluate the value as a date.

4. Hide the formulas

Alternatively, our readers can read through our guide onhow to Stop Excel from changing numbers to dateswhen using it. Likewise, you can checkhow to fix not being able to access fileson Excel.

If you have more questions or suggestions, kindly drop them in the comments section.

Excel Date Showing as Number? 4 Ways to Stop It#

How do I stop Excel from formatting dates into numbers?#

1. Convert the cell formatting#

2. Insert a sign#

3. Use Find & Replace#

4. Hide the formulas#