I want to enter a column of data as time DURATION (not clock time) in mm:ss
format and then sum the total. What cell format should I select for the
duration entries (mm:ss does not work) and what calculation steps do I need
to use to sum those durations?
A common misconception, with regard to dates and times, is that the cell format
has something to do with how Excel parses the input.
It does not.
If you input 55:33, Excel will interpret that as 55 hrs 33 minutes no matter
what format you have set. (Well, if you have set text, it will be interpreted
as a text string, but certain function will convert it to hrs:minutes.
If you want to input 55 min 33 sec, you'll need to enter 0:55:33. In other
words, enter your value in h:m:s or h:mm:ss format.
Some alternatives:
If you are always going to enter your data as m:ss, in an adjacent column
enter the formula
=cell_ref/60
This will convert your entry to m:ss, but won't work if you are also entering
fractions of a second.
Use a VBA macro to do the same thing.
If you are entering fractions of a second, ALL THE TIME, it might work. But
you'll have to remember to add the trailing zero.
In other words:
ENTER
55:33 --> 55 hours, 33 minutes
55:33.0 --> 55 minutes, 33 seconds
--ron
