Shortcut to Enter GMT

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 4, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365


2

When Farol uses the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+; Excel enters the local time in the cell. He wonders if there is any way to have it, instead, enter GMT (+7 or +8 hours) into the cell.

There is no way to configure Excel to do this, but it is a very easy task to create a macro that will enter the adjusted time. If you know that your local time is 8 hours behind GMT, then you can use a macro such as the following:

Sub EnterGMT()
    ActiveCell = Time + (8 / 24)
End Sub

You can then assign the macro to a shortcut key and use it to enter the time in any cell. If your local time is actually 7 hours behind GMT, then simply change the 8 to a 7 in the formula.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (13084) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365.

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. ...

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What is eight less than 8?

2021-09-04 16:03:19

Mike

A more general solution, which would appear to work in any time zone, at any time of the year, can be found here.

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1600875/how-to-get-the-current-datetime-in-utc-from-an-excel-vba-macro/23968601

The code is written as a UDF but to run it as a sub, the code in the tip could then be:

Sub EnterGMT()
ActiveCell = Format(UtcTime(Time), "hh:mm")
End Sub


2021-09-04 11:04:33

Tomek

You have to remember to change this macro when there is a change from summer to standard time. Is there a function that can tell whether the current time is standard or daylight savings time?


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