Timestamps

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Let's make auto-updating timestamps in Excel that can't be changed or altered - View Tutorial.

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Excel stores dates and times as numbers, then uses cell formatting to make those numbers appear as recognizable dates and times.

This is why you sometimes find odd looking numbers in your date/time columns in Excel.

The whole-number portion represents the date.

The decimal portion represents how much of the 24-hour day has passed.

This is why a date or time column can suddenly display odd-looking numbers when its formatting is removed or accidentally changed, such as through a file import/export operation.

For example, September 1, 2026 at 6:00 PM might suddenly appear as:

46266.75

Usually, the date and time have not been deleted or corrupted. Excel is simply displaying the underlying value instead of formatting it as a date and time.

For a value containing both the date and time, open that same menu, select More Number Formats, and apply a format such as:

m/d/yyyy h:mm:ss AM/PM

The recognizable dates and times should immediately reappear.

Note: This works when the cells contain genuine Excel date-and-time values. If the dates were imported or stored as text, applying number formatting alone may not fix them; the text must first be converted into real Excel dates.

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Cheers and see you next week!

Don