Change date format in Excel: to dd/mm/yyyy, mm/dd/yyyy, formula

Excel spreadsheets permit you to stay organized while managing large amounts of data, which can be organized in a number of ways. One popular way to organize this data is by date. Excel has a default date format of mm/dd/yyyy, which is the standard Americna format. However, you can also change the date format, to dd/mm/yyyy, for example. In this article we will show you how to change date format in excel to dd/mm/yyyy, and also how to revert it to mm/dd/yyyy.

How to change the Excel date format?

From mm/dd/yyyy to dd/mm/yyyy

To change the date display in Excel, follow these steps:

• Go to Format Cells > Custom
• Enter dd/mm/yyyy in the available space.

The dates listed in your spreadsheet should be converted to the new format.

From dd/mm/yyyy to mm/dd/yyyy

• Go to Format Cells > Custom
• Enter mm/dd/yyyy in the available space.

How to change the date format to a general numeric format?

You may also need to know how to convert the date form a date format into a general format, for example 14/01/2022 > 14012022.

You can use this formula:

=TEXT(A2,"mm/dd/yyyy")

Alternatively:

• Right-click on the cell with the date you want to convert into a number, and then go to the Format Cells menu.

• In the Format Cells, in the Number tab, select General from the category list. 
• Select OK. The date should now be displayed as a numeric value without the date format. 

How to change the date format to text? 

Sometimes it's easier to read dates when they are written out, for example "12 July 1996" rather than 12/7/1996. To change the date to a more readable text format:

• Right-click on the cell with the date you want to convert into a number, and then go to the Format Cells menu.

• In the Format Cells, in the Number tab, select Date from the category list, then choose your preferred format from the menu.