How To Get Rid of Date Format In Excel

Boost your productivity with Sourcetable's AI spreadsheet assistant. Work like a spreadsheet power user and answer all your questions in seconds.

Learn more

How to in Excel
Why Know How
Common Use Cases
Sourcetable vs Excel
Frequently Asked Questions

Introduction

Struggling with unwanted date formats in Excel can disrupt workflow and data analysis. This page offers practical steps to remove or alter date formatting quickly and efficiently.

While Excel requires manual formatting and complex functions, Sourcetable's AI chatbot lets you handle date formats and any other spreadsheet tasks through simple conversation. Experience how Sourcetable can transform your data analysis by simply telling the AI what you need - try it now.

Removing Date Formatting in Excel

Excel users often encounter automatic date formatting that converts entered numbers into dates. This default behavior is based on system settings and cannot be turned off directly.

Clear Existing Date Formats

To remove date formatting from cells, select the cells and use the Clear Formats option. This feature, found under the Clear button on the Home tab, eradicates selected date formats. After clearing, set the cell format to General or Number using the number formatting group on the Home tab.

Prevent Automatic Date Conversion

To prevent automatic date formatting, preformat empty cells as Text. Alternately, input data with a leading space, an apostrophe, or a zero followed by a space before a fraction to avoid triggering date format changes.

Use these methods to ensure numerical and textual data remains unaffected by Excel’s automatic date formatting.

Answer Any Spreadsheet Question

Use Sourcetable's AI chatbot to answer any spreadsheet question in seconds.

Common Use Cases for Removing Excel Date Formatting

Data Import Preparation	When transferring data from Excel to other software systems, removing date formatting ensures clean imports. This prevents compatibility issues and data interpretation errors in the target system.
Text Concatenation Without Format Conflicts	By converting dates to plain text, you can easily combine date information with other text fields. This is particularly useful when creating standardized strings or identifiers that include date components.
Raw Number Date Calculations	Converting dates to their underlying numerical values allows for specialized mathematical operations. This enables custom date calculations that would be impossible with standard date formatting.
Clean Data Presentation	Removing date formatting helps create consistent, professional-looking reports and presentations. It gives you complete control over how date information appears in your final deliverables.
Paste Operation Control	When copying data from external sources, removing date formatting prevents Excel from automatically formatting pasted content. This maintains the integrity of your original data and prevents unwanted format conversions.

Excel vs. Sourcetable: A Smarter Way to Work with Data

While Excel relies on manual functions and formulas, Sourcetable revolutionizes spreadsheet work with its AI-powered interface. Simply chat with Sourcetable's AI to create spreadsheets, analyze data, and generate visualizations - no formulas or complex features required. Try Sourcetable at app.sourcetable.com to get instant answers to any spreadsheet question.

AI-Powered Experience

Excel requires learning complex functions and features. Sourcetable lets you chat naturally with AI to accomplish any spreadsheet task, from data analysis to chart creation.

Effortless Data Handling

Unlike Excel's size limitations, Sourcetable handles files of any size and connects directly to databases. Simply upload your data or connect your source, then let the AI analyze it.

Instant Analysis and Visualization

Instead of manually creating charts and running analyses in Excel, tell Sourcetable's AI what insights you need. It automatically generates visualizations and performs complex analysis through natural conversation.

Smart Automation

Excel requires manual updating and maintenance. Sourcetable's AI continuously learns and adapts, automating routine tasks and generating insights without human intervention.

How do I remove date formatting from cells in Excel?

Select the cell or cells with date formatting, click the arrow next to the clear button on the Home tab, then select Clear Formats from the options that appear.

What's the alternative method to remove date formatting in Excel?

Select the cell with date formatting, then select either general or number formatting from the drop down list of formats in the number formatting group on the Home tab.

How can I convert dates to text in Excel?

Use the TEXT function with the syntax =TEXT(value, format), where value is the cell containing the date and format is your desired format (such as 'dd/mm/yyyy' or 'mm-dd-yyyy').

Excel Date Format Simplified with Sourcetable

Struggling with date formats in Excel can be a thing of the past. Sourcetable is an AI-powered spreadsheet that eliminates the need for complex functions and features. Simply chat with Sourcetable's AI to create spreadsheets, manipulate data, and generate stunning visualizations effortlessly.

With Sourcetable, you can upload files of any size or connect your database directly. The AI chatbot understands your needs and performs complex analyses without requiring formula knowledge. From generating sample data to creating comprehensive reports, Sourcetable handles all your spreadsheet tasks through natural conversation.

Transform your spreadsheet experience today - sign up for Sourcetable and let AI answer any question about your data instantly.

How To Get Rid of Date Format In Excel

Work smarter with AI.

Try Sourcetable

Introduction