Where to find date settings in Excel

Excel pulls date formats from your computer's regional settings, not from a menu inside the program itself. This means changing how dates appear in Excel usually means changing your Windows or Mac settings first. However, Excel also lets you override those defaults for individual cells or columns, which is faster if you only need to change dates in one spreadsheet.

The quickest route is to select the cells with dates, right-click, choose Format Cells, and pick a different date format from the list. This changes only those cells and leaves your system settings alone. If you want dates to look different across all your spreadsheets, you'll need to adjust your operating system's regional settings instead.

Key Takeaways

  • Right-clicking selected date cells and choosing Format Cells lets you change how dates display in just that spreadsheet without touching your system settings.
  • Excel's date format options include short dates (3/15/2024), long dates (March 15, 2024), and custom formats you can build yourself.
  • Changing your Windows or Mac regional settings affects how dates appear in Excel and most other programs, not just one spreadsheet.
  • If Excel shows dates as numbers like 45375 instead of a readable date, the column is too narrow or the cells need a date format applied.

Changing date format for specific cells in Excel

Select the cells containing the dates you want to reformat. You can click one cell, hold Shift and click another to select a range, or click the column header to select an entire column. Then right-click and choose Format Cells from the menu that appears.

In the Format Cells window, click the Number tab if it isn't already selected. On the left side, click Date from the Category list. Excel will show you all available date formats in the middle column — short formats like "3/15/24", long formats like "Friday, March 15, 2024", and variations with different separators and month names. Click the format you want and click OK.

Your selected cells will now display dates in the new format. This change affects only those cells in this spreadsheet. If you open a different Excel file, dates there will still use whatever format was set before.

Creating a custom date format in Excel

If none of Excel's built-in date formats match what you need, you can build your own. Open Format Cells the same way — select your date cells, right-click, and choose Format Cells. Click the Number tab, then click Date in the Category list.

At the bottom of the Format Cells window, you'll see a field labeled Type that shows the code for the currently selected format. You can edit this code directly. Common codes are: M for month (3), MM for month with a leading zero (03), MMM for abbreviated month name (Mar), MMMM for full month name (March), D for day (5), DD for day with a leading zero (05), YY for two-digit year (24), and YYYY for four-digit year (2024).

For example, typing MMMM D, YYYY produces "March 15, 2024". Typing DD/MM/YY produces "15/03/24". Type your custom format and click OK. Excel will explore it to your selected cells.

Changing date settings in Windows for all programs

If you want dates to display differently across Excel and other programs on your computer, change your Windows regional settings. Open the Windows Settings app, go to Time & Language, then click Region on the left side.

Under Regional format, you'll see your current region (like "English (United States)"). Click the dropdown to see other region options, each with its own default date format. Selecting "English (United Kingdom)" will change dates to day/month/year format across your system. Selecting "French (France)" will use a different format again.

If you want to customize the date format without changing your region, scroll down to Related settings and click Additional date, time & regional settings. This opens the Control Panel. Click Change date, time, or number formats, then click Additional settings. Under the Date tab, you can edit the short date and long date formats that Windows uses by default. Any changes you make here will affect how dates appear in Excel and most other Windows programs.

Changing date settings on Mac for all programs

On a Mac, open System Settings and click General in the sidebar. Scroll down and click Language & Region. You'll see a Region dropdown showing your current region. Click it and choose a different region to change the default date format system-wide.

If you want more control, click the dropdown next to First day of week and Calendar to adjust those settings separately. These changes affect how dates display in Excel and other Mac programs. To customize the exact date format, you'll need to use Excel's Format Cells option instead, since macOS doesn't offer a granular date format editor in System Settings the way Windows does.

Fixing dates that appear as numbers

Sometimes Excel displays dates as long numbers like 45375 instead of a readable date. This usually means the column is too narrow to display the full date, or the cells don't have a date format applied yet. First, try widening the column by double-clicking the border between column headers — Excel will auto-fit the column width. If the numbers still appear, the cells need a date format.

Select the cells showing numbers, right-click, and choose Format Cells. Click Date in the Category list and pick a format. Click OK. The numbers should now display as proper dates. If they still show as numbers after formatting, the data may have been entered as text rather than as a date value, which is a different problem requiring you to re-enter the dates or use a conversion formula.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do my dates look different on someone else's computer?

Excel uses your computer's regional settings to display dates. If your colleague's computer is set to a different region, the same date will look different. You can make dates look the same across computers by using a custom format in Excel (which travels with the file) instead of relying on system settings.

Can I change the date format for an entire Excel workbook at once?

No, you have to select and format cells individually or by column. However, you can select all cells in a sheet by clicking the box in the top-left corner (where row and column headers meet), then explore a date format to the whole sheet at once.

What's the difference between a short date and a long date?

A short date is compact, like "3/15/24" or "15/03/2024". A long date includes the day of the week and full month name, like "Friday, March 15, 2024". Use short dates when space is tight; use long dates when readability matters.

If I change my Windows region settings, will it affect my existing Excel files?

Existing files that use custom formats will keep those formats. Files that rely on your system's default date format will update to match your new region setting. To avoid confusion, use custom formats in Excel instead of depending on system settings.

Can I use a date format that shows the time as well?

Yes. In Format Cells, click Date in the Category list and look for formats that include both date and time, like "3/15/2024 2:30 PM". You can also create a custom format by combining date codes with time codes like MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM AM/PM.