Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 22, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021
Some people like to use Excel to keep track of the time that they work on different jobs. If you want a quick way to enter the current time, simply select a cell and press Ctrl+: (that's the colon). Obviously, to access the colon you need to hold down the Shift key, so some people might express this shortcut as Shift+Ctrl+:. The result is that Excel places the current system time in the selected cell. All you need to do is press Enter to accept the time.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9544) 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: Entering the Current Time.
Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!
Each cell in a worksheet can hold quite a bit of information. If you want to see the information in the cell without the ...
Discover MoreWhen you insert cells into a worksheet, Excel needs to know which direction it should shift the displaced cells. If you ...
Discover MoreThe programs in the Microsoft Office suite are designed to work with each other easily. Sometimes there can be hiccups ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2023-09-22 05:10:39
The time returned has an underlying date of 0/01/1900 making it impossible to get meaningful math results when times have been entered over different days. Users would need an adjacent date cell or could enter the date in the same cell by pressing Ctrl+; Space Shift Ctrl+:
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