Adding the Current Date
Dates are very important in spreadsheets. Not only are dates frequently included as data, but it is customary to include the date that a worksheet was created or last modified.
Depending on what the date data is being used for, there are a number of ways of adding the date to a worksheet.
One of Excel's date functions can be used or a date can simply be typed into a cell.
The quickest way to add the current date to a worksheet is to use a keyboard shortcut.
For this tutorial:
- Click on cell D2 to make it the active cell and type the word Date:.
- Click on cell E2 - the location where we want to enter the current date.
- Press and hold down the Ctrl key on the keyboard.
- Press and release the semi colon key ( ; ) on the keyboard without releasing the Ctrl key.
- Release the Ctrl key.
- The current date should be added to the worksheet.
- Press and release the ENTER key on the keyboard to complete the entry of the date into cell E2.
Note: If the date appears as number signs - such as ##### - in the cell, it is because the cell is not wide enough to accommodate the formatted data. Widening columns is a common formatting task in Excel and is covered in step 6 of the tutorial.
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