Basic Microsoft Works Spreadsheets Tutorial

By Ted French, About.com Guide

Adding the Date with the NOW Function

Note: For help on these steps, refer to the image above.

It is normal to add the date to a spreadsheet. Built into Works are a number of DATE functions that can be used to do this. In this tutorial we will use the NOW function.

1. Click on cell C4.
   
   
2. Select cell B12 in the spreadsheet.
   
   
3. Type = NOW ( )
   
   
4. Press the ENTER key on the keyboard.
   
   
5. A number, such as 39164.716, should appear in cell B12. This number is known as the serial date.

Formatting the Serial Date

1. Select cell B12 in the spreadsheet.
   
   
2. Click on Format > Number.. in the menus to open the Format Cells dialog box.
   
   
3. Click on Date in the Select format type window.
   
   
4. Click on the first option (8/24/2000) in the Set date format window.
   
   
5. Click OK
   
   
6. The date should now formatted in the mm/dd/yyyy format.

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