Display the time and date correctly in Excel 2007

When you type a date or time in a cell that is made in Excel, it is displayed in the default date and time format. The default date and time are based on the area date and time settings that are specified in the Windows Control Panel and change as these settings change. You can display numbers in several other date and time formats, most of which are not affected by Control Panel settings.

1, select the cells you want to format.

2, on the Start tab, click the dialog Box Launcher next to number.

3, in the Category list, click Date or time.

4, in the Type list, click the date or time format you want to use.

Note: the date and time format that starts with an asterisk (*) responds to changes in the locale date and time settings specified in the Windows Control Panel. Formatting without an asterisk is not affected by the control Panel settings.

The date or time that you type in the formatted cell is displayed in the selected format.

5. To display the date and time in a different language format, click the language setting that you want in the Regional settings (country/region) box.

The number in the active cell in the selected range on the worksheet appears in the sample box so that you can preview the selected number formatting options.

To quickly format a date or time, click the date or time format you want in the number format box in the number group on the Start tab.

If you can't find the format you want in the type list, you can create a custom number format by first clicking Custom in the Category list, and then using the format code for the date and time.

Learn about custom date and time codes

Days, months, and years Microsoft Office Excel displays the number of minutes instead of the month if "M" is immediately after "H" or "HH" code, or immediately before the "SS" code. (www.3lian.com)

AM and PM If the format contains AM or PM, the hour is displayed on a 12-hour basis, "AM" or "A" indicates the time between 12 o'clock midnight to 12 o'clock noon, "PM" or "P" indicates the time between noon 12 o'clock and midnight 12 o'clock, otherwise, the hour is displayed on a 24-hour basis. The "M" or "MM" code must be immediately after "H" or "HH" code, or immediately followed by the "SS" code, otherwise Microsoft Office Excel will display the month instead of minutes.

If you want to use the default date or time format, click the cell that contains the date or time, and then press ctrl+shift+# or ctrl+shift+@.