The Excel Today function

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This week’s Function and Shortcut Keys

The Excel Today function

 returns the current date. The function has no arguments and therefore, the syntax of the function is simply:

TODAY()

 

Today Function Examples

The following spreadsheets show 2 simple examples of calls to the Today function, which were made on 6th January 2011. The first example shows the function used alone, and the second example shows the function used as a part of a formula that calculates the number of days that have passed since 31-Dec-2009.

The spreadsheet shows the format of the formulas and the spreadsheet on the below shows the results.

 

 

Today Function Problem

The following problem is encountered by some people when using the Excel Today function:

Common Problem

When you attempt to subtract another date from the result the Today function, (as in cell B2 of the example above), the result looks like a date (eg. "16/11/1900"), instead of returning an integer.

Possible Reason

This problem arises because the new cell or column is formatted as a 'date'. In this case, it is only the formatting of the cell that is wrong, NOT the value returned by the function.

To correct this:

• Highlight the cell(s) with the wrong formatting
• Right click with the mouse
• Select the Format Cells ... option and ensure the Number tab is selected
• Under the Category heading, select the option General and click OK

 

Selecting Cells

CTRL - Left Mouse Button	-	Selects multiple cells i.e. to select more than one cell (or range), first use the mouse to select on the first cell (or range), then press the CTRL key and use the mouse to select further cells or ranges
SHIFT - Left Mouse Button	-	Selects all cells between (and including) the previous active cell and the cell that is currently being clicked in i.e. to select a range, first use the left mouse key to click on a cell (or row or column) at the start of the range, then press the Shift key and select the cell at the end of the range
SHIFT   ↓	-	Moves the current selected range down a row
SHIFT   ↑	-	Moves the current selected range up a row
SHIFT   →	-	Moves the current selected range right by one column
SHIFT   ←	-	Moves the current selected range left by one column
CTRL-SHIFT   ↓	-	Selects all cells below the current selection, up to the edge of the current data region
CTRL-SHIFT   ↑	-	Selects all cells above the current selection, up to the edge of the current data region
CTRL-SHIFT   →	-	Selects all cells to the right of the current selection, up to the edge of the current data region
CTRL-SHIFT   ←	-	Selects all cells to the left of the current selection, up to the edge of the current data region
CTRL-Spacebar	-	Selects the whole of the current column(s)
SHIFT-Spacebar	-	Selects the whole of the current row(s)
CTRL-a	-	Selects all cells in the current worksheet

Inputting Data

CTRL - ;	-	Inserts the current date into a cell
CTRL - :	-	Inserts the current time into a cell
F4	-	While in edit mode within a cell, cycles through the 4 different combinations of absolute and relative references : A1 $A$1 A$1 $A1