Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 19, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365
Bud has a cell that contains elapsed time. If the cell contains an elapsed time of 8:20:00, he would like it to show as a decimal equivalent, such as (in this case) 8.3. He wonders if this can be done through formatting.
The short answer is no, this cannot be done through formatting alone. It can, however, be handled through a formula combined with formatting. For instance, let's say the elapsed time is in cell B7. In another cell you could use the following:
=B7*24
That's it; now you just need to format the result of the formula as a numeric value, including as many decimal places as desired.
This approach works because of the way that Excel stores dates and times internally. The portion of the internal value that is to the right of the decimal point is the portion of a full day, so multiplying by 24 gives you the number of hours in decimal format.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (12101) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365.
Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!
Need to know if a cell contains a time value? Excel doesn't contain an intrinsic worksheet function to answer the ...
Discover MoreYou know what time it is, right? (Quick; look at your watch!) What if you want to know what time it is in Greenwich, ...
Discover MoreDates and times are often standardized on UTC time, which is analogous to GMT times. How to convert such times to your ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments