date format appearing improper

[Mann]

Hi Group,

I am facing a very strange problem.
When i enter the date e.g 04/02/2004.Then i go to that
cell,got to format cell and change the date format to 4-
feb-04 and say apply.

It still appear as 04/02/2004.

please suggest what should be done.


Thank you.
Mann

 

[Frank Kabel]

Hi
the cell is probably formated as text and is not a date.
Try the following: enter the formula
=ISNUMBER(A1)
where A1 stores this date. It should return TRUE. If this returns FALSE
the date is stored as text. You may try the following
- Format the cell (prior to entering a date) as 'Date
- enter your date
- Apply your format

another idea:
how did you change the format. You should apply the following custom
format:
D-MMM-YY
(don't enter the explicit month/date values)

 

[Dave Peterson]

Does it work ok if you enter 02/04/2004 (still get 4-feb-04 back)?

If yes, then it sounds to me like you're not entering the dates in the same way
windows/excel expects them.

Try looking at your windows regional settings to see how you have your short
date setup.

Windows start button|settings|control panel|regional settings applet|date tab