Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. 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: Backwards Date Parsing.
Larry was unfortunate enough to suffer a blue-screen crash on his system. After repairs, Larry noticed that the way in which Excel parsed dates was backwards. For instance, if he entered 2/3, he expected Excel to parse it as February 3 but Excel was instead parsing it as March 2.
There are two possible causes for the problem, and you'll need to figure out which one it is. First, you should determine if the problem exists in all of your Excel workbooks or just in a few. If it is in a few, then it is probable that the date format has been set incorrectly for the cells in question. Follow these steps:
If the problem is exhibited in all your Excel workbooks, then chances are good that it isn't an Excel problem at all but is related to your operating system. (In Larry's case this is probably the culprit, as the blue-screen crash was related to the operating system.) You can verify this because if it is the operating system, the "backward" dates will be evident even in other programs. For instance, open Windows Explorer and take a look at some of the dates displayed for various files. If the dates there appear in an order different than you would expect, then the problem is definitely with the operating system.
In this case you will need to open the Control Panel, display the Regional Settings, and make sure that the settings are proper for the United States. Understand that making the change in the Regional Settings will affect not only Excel, but all programs on the system.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (11928) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Backwards Date Parsing.
Save Time and Supercharge Excel! Automate virtually any routine task and save yourself hours, days, maybe even weeks. Then, learn how to make Excel do things you thought were simply impossible! Mastering advanced Excel macros has never been easier. Check out Excel 2010 VBA and Macros today!
Want to find out how many of a particular weekday occurs within a given month? Here's how you can find the desired ...
Discover MoreNeed to figure out if one date is between two other dates? There are a wide variety of formulaic approaches you could use ...
Discover MoreSimple math will tell you what the previous day is (just subtract 1 from today's date). What if you want to know the date ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2016-04-04 09:19:53
CJ
Belize and the Federated States of Micronesia also use the "backwards" format.
2016-04-04 09:17:34
CJ
I don't think Mr. Wyatt ever claimed the US is the only country in the world; hence, he quoted the word "backwards", meaning the month and day had switched from the format the user is accustomed to.
2016-04-04 06:04:58
Tom Jarvis
Absolutely. Time the computer industry came into line with the rest of the world and stopped being so US Centric.
2016-04-04 01:10:57
Craig Small
Bearing in mind that "backwards" for everywhere EXCEPT the United States is correct ... Excel's insistence that it knows how to parse dates imported from a CSV is a source of ongoing agony for many of us. Sometimes the only way to ensure correct parsing is to format the date "yyyymmdd" and use substring functions (left, mid and right) to get dates the way the REST of us want them ...
*End of rant*
2016-04-03 02:27:43
Chris
Just to note... There are a few other countries in the world, other than the United States :-)
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 © 2018 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. 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: 
Comments