- Image by Erik Eckel via Flickr
Using dates is a vital part in spreadsheets like Excel. Not only can you add the current date to any information you are entering into your spreadsheet, you can also sort information by date or locate information that was entered before or after a particular date. There is a variety of ways you can use dates using the Excel program.
You can easily sort your information in Excel from ascending (oldest to newest) or descending (newest to oldest). To sort the dates of your spreadsheet, you will highlight the cells you wish you include, and then click on the Home ribbon of the toolbar. There you will find the option to sort and filter and pick either ascending or descending order.
You can also find the number of days between two specific dates by using the DATEDIF function. This function can be used to find the number of days, months or years between two separate dates, even if they are from different years. Another function to find the number of business days between two dates is by using the NETWORKDAYS function. The EDATE function can be used to find the due date of a project or investment that falls on the same day as the date it was issued. For instance, if you have 7 months from 12/7 to finish a project, the EDATE function will show you that the due date for the project will by 7/7. Another function to find a due date that may be at the end of a particular month is the EOMONTH function.
There are many other functions that you can easily use to calculate the number of days between two dates such as the DAYS360 function or the DATEDIF function. The best way to find which works best for you is to try all the different functions. There is really no better way to learn a program such as Excel than by playing around and seeing what each function does.
