Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Calculating Time Differences between Two Machines.

Calculating Time Differences between Two Machines

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 13, 2021)

Don has a computer that has access to several different servers over his office network. These servers do not have their clocks synchronized, and Don was wondering if there was a way, in VBA, to determine the time discrepancy between a given server and his machine.

In order to figure out the time discrepancy, you'll need to figure out two times—one on your machine and one on the server—and then compare them. Getting the time on your own machine is easy enough; just use the Time function in VBA. Getting the time on another machine is more difficult, as there is no built-in function that facilitates this task.

You can, however, use an API function call to determine the time on a remote server. Exactly how you would develop such a function call is beyond the scope of this tip, but you can find a pretty good tutorial online for accomplishing the task:

http://www.mvps.org/access/api/api0039.htm

Take a look at the page, and you can adapt the code to fit your needs. The fGetServerTime function returns a string that contains the complete date and time. You can then use the TimeValue function in your macro to convert this string into a native Excel time value. Once converted, you can compare the value to the internal system time to determine the discrepancy you need.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9268) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Calculating Time Differences between Two Machines.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Merging Formatted Data

Using the mail merge feature of Word, you can make data from Access databases accessible for your documents. How ...

Discover More

Formatting for Hundredths of Seconds

When you display a time in a cell, Excel normally displays just the hours, minutes, and seconds. If you want to display ...

Discover More

Copying All Tables to a New Document

Need to make a copy of every single table in a document? There's a quick and easy way to do it using the macro in this tip.

Discover More

Dive Deep into Macros! Make Excel do things you thought were impossible, discover techniques you won't find anywhere else, and create powerful automated reports. Bill Jelen and Tracy Syrstad help you instantly visualize information to make it actionable. You’ll find step-by-step instructions, real-world case studies, and 50 workbooks packed with examples and solutions. Check out Microsoft Excel 2019 VBA and Macros today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Converting Numbers Into Words

Write out a check and you need to include the digits for the amount of the check and the value of the check written out ...

Discover More

Cropping Graphics in a Macro

Excel allows you to easily paste graphics into a worksheet. Once added, you may want to quickly process the graphics by ...

Discover More

Sheets for Months

One common type of workbook used in offices is one that contains a single worksheet for each month of the year. If you ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is five more than 8?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

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.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.