Vba excel format now

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This tutorial will demonstrate how to get today’s date in VBA.

There are a couple of ways to obtain today’s date in VBA code, namely using the VBA Date() function or the VBA Now() functions.

Date() function

The Date() Function returns today’s date. In the example below, we assign today’s date to a variable and then display the date in the immediate window in the VBE Editor.

  Dim dtToday as Date
  dtToday = Date()
  Debug.Print dtToday

Alternatively, we can display the date in a message box.

Sub TestDate
  Dim dtToday as Date
  dtToday = Date()
  Msgbox "Today's date is " & dtToday
End Sub

VBA Date MsgBox

Now() Function

The Now() Function works in the same way as the date function, but it includes the time.

Sub TestDate()
  Dim dtToday As Date
  dtToday = Now()
  MsgBox "Today's date is " & dtToday
  End Sub

VBA Date MsgBox Now

Formatting Dates with VBA

In both the Date() and the Now() functions, the date is formatted in a default style as determined  by the settings on our PC.  We can customize this formatting using the VBA Format function.  As the format function will return a string, we need to declare a STRING variable rather than a DATE variable.

Sub TestDate()
   Dim dtToday As String
   dtToday = Format (Date, "dd mmmm yyyy")
   MsgBox "Today's date is " & dtToday
End Sub

VBA Date Format

We can also format the Now() function to include the time portion in a customized format.

Sub FormatNow()
  Dim dtToday As String
  dtToday = Format(Now(), "dd mmmm yy hh:mm:ss am/pm")
  MsgBox dtToday
End Sub

VBA Date Now Format

Comparing 2 Dates with VBA

We can also use the Date function to compare today’s date with a different date – we might want to calculate how many days there are until an event!  We can do this using the VBA DateDiff()  function which will return a number.  We can therefore declare an INTEGER variable to store the returned value in.

Sub TestDateDiff()
 Dim dtToday As Date
 Dim dtSomeDay As Date
 Dim iDays As Integer
 dtToday = Date
 dtSomeDay = "05/06/2021"
 iDays = DateDiff("d", dtToday, dtSomeDay)
 MsgBox "There are " & iDays & " days between the 2 dates"
End Sub

VBA_ Date Diff

As Dates are stored as numbers, we could also minus the second date from the first to obtain the same answer.

iDays = dtToday - dtSomeDay

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Преобразование чисел, дат и строк в настраиваемый текстовый формат из кода VBA Excel с помощью функции Format. Синтаксис, параметры, символы, примеры.

Format – это функция, которая преобразует число, дату или строку в текст, отформатированный в соответствии с именованным выражением формата или инструкциями, составленными из специальных символов.

Синтаксис и параметры

Format(Expression, [FormatExpression], [FirstDayOfWeek], [FirstWeekOfYear])

  • Expression – любое допустимое выражение (переменная), возвращающее числовое значение или строку (обязательный параметр).
  • FormatExpression – выражение формата, именованное или содержащее инструкции из специальных символов (необязательный параметр).
  • FirstDayOfWeek – константа, задающая первый день недели (необязательный параметр).
  • FirstWeekOfYear – константа, задающая первую неделю года (необязательный параметр).

Именованные выражения форматов

Именные форматы даты и времени

Имя формата Описание
General Date Стандартное отображение даты и времени в соответствии с параметрами системы.
Long Date Длинный формат даты.
Medium Date Средний формат даты.
Short Date Краткий формат даты.
Long Time Длинный формат времени.
Medium Time Средний формат времени.
Short Time Краткий формат времени.

Проверьте отображение даты и времени с использованием именованных форматов на вашем компьютере при помощи следующего кода VBA Excel:

Sub FormatDateTime()

MsgBox «General Date:  « & Format(Now, «General Date») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «Long Date:  « & Format(Now, «Long Date») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «Medium Date:  « & Format(Now, «Medium Date») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «Short Date:  « & Format(Now, «Short Date») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «Long Time:  « & Format(Now, «Long Time») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «Medium Time:  « & Format(Now, «Medium Time») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «Short Time:  « & Format(Now, «Short Time»)

End Sub

Скорее всего, результат будет таким:

Отображение даты и времени в соответствии с именованными форматами

Именованные форматы чисел

Имя формата Описание
General Number Стандартное отображение числа без знака разделителя групп разрядов.
Currency Денежный формат.
Fixed Отображение числа без знака разделителя групп разрядов с двумя цифрами после разделителя целой и дробной части.
Standard Отображение числа со знаком разделителя групп разрядов и с двумя цифрами после разделителя целой и дробной части.
Percent Процентный формат: отображение числа, умноженного на 100, со знаком процента (%), добавленного справа.
Scientific Отображение числа в экспоненциальном виде.
Yes/No Возвращается «Нет», если число равно 0, иначе отображается «Да».
True/False Возвращается «Ложь», если число равно 0, иначе отображается «Истина».
On/Off Возвращается «Выкл», если число равно 0, иначе отображается «Вкл».

Проверяем работу именованных форматов на числах 2641387.7381962 и 0 с помощью кода VBA Excel:

Sub FormatNumber()

Dim n As Double

n = 2641387.7381962

‘n = 0

MsgBox «Форматируемое число = « & n & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «General Number:  « & Format(n, «General Number») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «Currency:  « & Format(n, «Currency») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «Fixed:  « & Format(n, «Fixed») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «Standard:  « & Format(n, «Standard») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «Percent:  « & Format(n, «Percent») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «Scientific:  « & Format(n, «Scientific») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «Yes/No:  « & Format(n, «Yes/No») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «True/False:  « & Format(n, «True/False») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «On/Off:  « & Format(n, «On/Off»)

End Sub

Получаем следующий результат:

Отображение числа в соответствии с именованными форматамиОтображение нуля в соответствии с именованными форматами числа

Вместо вопросительного знака в отображении числа в формате Currency, по идее, должен быть знак валюты (₽ или руб.).

Специальные символы для выражений форматов

Символы для форматов даты и времени

Символ Описание
Точка (.) Разделитель компонентов даты (день, месяц, год). Используется при отображении месяца в виде числа.
Пробел Разделитель компонентов даты (день, месяц, год). Используется при отображении месяца прописью.
Двоеточие (:) Разделитель компонентов времени (часы, минуты, секунды).
d День в виде числа без нуля в начале (1–31).
dd День в виде числа с нулем в начале (01–31).
m Месяц в виде числа без нуля в начале (1–12). Если (m) следует после (h) или (hh), отображаются минуты (0–59).
mm Месяц в виде числа с нулем в начале (01–12). Если (mm) следует после (h) или (hh), отображаются минуты (00–59).
mmm Месяц прописью в сокращенном виде (янв–дек).
mmmm Полное название месяца (январь–декабрь).
y День года в виде числа (1–366).
yy Год в виде 2-значного числа (00–99).
yyyy Год в виде 4-значного числа (1900–9999).
h Часы в виде числа без нуля в начале (0–23).
hh Часы в виде числа с нулем в начале (00–23).
n (m) Минуты в виде числа без нуля в начале (0–59).
nn (mm) Минуты в виде числа с нулем в начале (00–59).
s Секунды в виде числа без нуля в начале (0–59).
ss Секунды в виде числа с нулем в начале (00–59).

В этой таблице перечислены далеко не все символы для выражений форматов даты и времени. Вы можете ознакомиться со всеми символами, в том числе и для форматирования чисел, на сайте разработчика.

Примеры отображения даты с помощью разных по количеству наборов символа d:

Sub DataIsD()

MsgBox «d:  « & Format(Now, «d») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «dd:  « & Format(Now, «dd») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «ddd:  « & Format(Now, «ddd») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «dddd:  « & Format(Now, «dddd») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «ddddd:  « & Format(Now, «ddddd») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «dddddd:  « & Format(Now, «dddddd»)

End Sub

Форматы даты, полученные с помощью разных по количеству наборов символа d

Символы для числовых форматов

Символ Описание
Точка (.) Десятичный разделитель.
Запятая (,) Разделитель групп разрядов. В отображаемых числах заполняется пробелом.
(0) Заполнитель, который отображает цифру или ноль. Используется, когда нужны ведущие нули или нули в конце числа.
(#) Заполнитель, который отображает цифру или ничего не отображает. Используется, когда не нужны ведущие нули или нули в конце числа.
(%) Заполнитель процента. Выражение умножается на 100, а знак процента (%) вставляется на той позиции, где он указан в строке формата.
(E- E+ e- e+) Экспоненциальный формат.

Примеры использования символов в выражениях числовых форматов VBA Excel:

Sub FormatNumber2()

Dim n As Double

n = 2641387.7381962

‘n = 0.2397842

MsgBox «Форматируемое число = « & n & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «0.##:  « & Format(n, «0.##») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «000.###:  « & Format(n, «000.###») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «#,###.###:  « & Format(n, «#,###.###») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «0 %:  « & Format(n, «0 %») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «0.### E-:  « & Format(n, «0.### E-«) & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «0.### E+:  « & Format(n, «0.### E+»)

End Sub

Символы для текстовых форматов

Символ Описание
At-символ (@) Заполнитель для символов, отображающий знак или пробел.
Амперсанд (&) Заполнитель для символов, отображающий знак или ничего (пустая строка).
Меньше (<) Принудительный перевод всех буквенных символов в нижний регистр.
Больше (>) Принудительный перевод всех буквенных символов в верхний регистр.

Примеры использования символов в выражениях строковых форматов VBA Excel:

Sub FormatString()

MsgBox «Номер телефона:  « & Format(«1234567890», «+7 (@@@) @@@-@@-@@») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «Серия и номер паспорта:  « & Format(«1234567890», «&& && &&&&») & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «Нижний регистр:  « & Format(«Нижний регистр», «<«) & vbNewLine _

& vbNewLine & «Верхний регистр: « & Format(«Верхний регистр», «>»)

End Sub

Результаты форматирования строк с помощью специальных символов для функции Format

Форматы для различных значений одного выражения

Различные форматы для разных числовых значений

В выражении формата для чисел предусмотрено от одного до четырех разделов, отделяемых друг от друга точкой с запятой. Отображаемая строка зависит от значения, возвращенного параметром Expression функции Format.

Количество разделов Результат форматирования
Один раздел Выражение формата применяется ко всем значениям.
Два раздела Первый раздел применяется к положительным значениям и нулям, второй – к отрицательным значениям.
Три раздела Первый раздел применяется к положительным значениям, второй – к отрицательным значениям, третий – к нулям.
Четыре раздела Первый раздел применяется к положительным значениям, второй – к отрицательным значениям, третий – к нулям, четвертый – к значениям Null.

Пример использования четырех разделов в выражении формата числовых значений:

Sub FormatDifferentValues()

MsgBox «Число 1234,5678:  « & _

Format(1234.5678, «#,##0.00 руб.;Отрицательное число;Ноль рублей;Значение Null») _

& vbNewLine & vbNewLine & «Число -25:  « & _

Format(25, «#,##0.00 руб.;Отрицательное число;Ноль рублей;Значение Null») _

& vbNewLine & vbNewLine & «Число 0:  « & _

Format(0, «#,##0.00 руб.;Отрицательное число;Ноль рублей;Значение Null») _

& vbNewLine & vbNewLine & «Null:  « & _

Format(Null, «#,##0.00 руб.;Отрицательное число;Ноль рублей;Значение Null»)

End Sub

Различные форматы для разных строковых значений

В выражении формата для строк предусмотрено до двух разделов, отделяемых друг от друга точкой с запятой. Отображаемая строка зависит от текста, возвращенного параметром Expression функции Format.

Количество разделов Результат форматирования
Один раздел Выражение формата применяется ко всем строковым данным.
Два раздела Первый раздел применяется к строковым данным, второй – к значениям Null и пустым строкам («»).

Пример использования двух разделов в выражении формата строк:

Sub FormatString2()

MsgBox «Строка «Белка»:  « & _

Format(«Белка», «@;Пустая строка или Null») _

& vbNewLine & vbNewLine & «Пустая строка:  « & _

Format(«», «@;Пустая строка или Null») _

& vbNewLine & vbNewLine & «Строка «Null»:  « & _

Format(«Null», «@;Пустая строка или Null») _

& vbNewLine & vbNewLine & «Значение Null:  « & _

Format(Null, «@;Пустая строка или Null»)

End Sub

Excel VBA Tutorial on how to set date formatsExcel provides you several options for formatting dates. In addition to the several built-in date formats that exist, you can create custom date formats.

Even though the process of manually applying a date format isn’t very complicated, there are some circumstances in which you may want to create macros that format dates. This may the case if, for example:

  • You use a particular date format constantly and want to be able to apply such a format without having to do everything manually; or
  • You frequently format cells or cell ranges in a particular way, and the formatting rules you apply include date formats.

Regardless of your situation, if you’re interested in understanding how you can use Visual Basic for Applications for purposes of formatting dates, you’ve found the right place.

When working in Visual Basic for Applications, there are a few different properties and functions you can use for purposes of formatting a date. The following 3 are commonly used:

  • The Format VBA function.
  • The Range.NumberFormatLocal property.
  • The Range.NumberFormat property.

This particular Excel tutorial focuses on the last item of the list above (the Range.NumberFormat property). I may cover the Format function and Range.NumberFormatLocal property in future blog posts. If you want to be informed whenever I publish new content in Power Spreadsheets, please make sure to register for our Newsletter by entering your email address below.

In addition to explaining the Range.NumberFormat property, I explain the different date format codes you can use and present 25 date formatting examples using VBA.

You can use the following detailed table of contents to navigate to the section of this tutorial that interests you the most.

Before I introduce the NumberFormat property in more detail, let’s start by taking a look at the sample file that accompanies this Excel tutorial:

Format Dates Using Excel VBA: Example

For purpose of this Excel tutorial, I use an Excel workbook that contains the full match schedule of the 2014 Brazil World Cup.

Sample table with dates to format

This Excel VBA Date Format Tutorial is accompanied by an Excel workbook containing the data and some versions of the macros I explain below. You can get immediate free access to this example workbook by subscribing to the Power Spreadsheets Newsletter.

Notice how the first column of the table contains dates:

Dates to format in Excel using VBA

These are the dates that I format throughout this tutorial.

However, since the focus of this macro is in formatting dates using VBA, we need a Sub procedure. The following image shows the basic structure of the macro (called “Format_Dates”) that I use to format these dates.

VBA code example to format date

The macro has a single statement:

Selection.NumberFormat = “m/d/yy;@”

Therefore, before I start showing examples of how you can format dates using VBA, let’s analyze this statement. For these purposes, you simply need to understand…

The Range.NumberFormat Property And How To Format An Excel Date Using VBA

As mentioned at the beginning of this Excel tutorial, you can generally use the Range.NumberFormat property to format dates.

The Range.NumberFormat property sets a Variant value. This value represents the number format code of the relevant Range object. For these purposes, the Range object is generally a single cell or a range of cells.

Strictly speaking, in addition to setting the NumberFormat property value, you can also return the property’s current setting. As explained by Excel authority John Walkenbach in Excel VBA Programming for Dummies, the NumberFormat property is a read-write property.

However, if you’re reading this Excel tutorial, you likely want to modify the property, not read it. Therefore, this guide focuses on how to change the NumberFormat property, not how to read it.

You can, however, easily examine the number format of a cell or range of cells. I explain how you can read a property value in this tutorial. In such cases, if (i) you select a range of cells and (ii) all the cells don’t share the same format, the Range.NumberFormat property returns Null.

NumberFormat is just one of the many (almost 100 by my count) properties of the Range object. As explained in Excel Macros for Dummies, once you’ve selected a range of cells (as the sample Format_Dates macro does), “you can use any of the Range properties to manipulate the cells”.

This Excel tutorial is quite specific. The only property of the Range object that I cover in this blog post is NumberFormat. In fact, I only explain (in high detail) one of the applications of the NumberFormat property: to format dates with VBA.

I may cover other properties of the Range object, or other applications of the NumberFormat property, in future tutorials. If you want to receive an email whenever I publish new material in Power Spreadsheets, please make sure to subscribe to our Newsletter by entering your email address below:

Syntax Of The Range.NumberFormat Property

The syntax of the Range.NumberFormat property is relatively simple:

expression.NumberFormat

In this case, “expression” stands for the Range object, or a variable that represents this object.

The sample Format_Dates macro shown above uses the Application.Selection property, which returns whichever object is selected. Generally, you can use the sample Format_Dates macro framework whenever the selection is a range of cells. Therefore, the sample macro uses the following version of the syntax above:

Selection.NumberFormat

You can use another expression instead of Selection. What matters, as I mention above, is that the expression stands for a Range object.

Whenever you want to modify the value of a property, you must do the following:

  • #1: Determine whether the property you’re working with uses arguments and, if that’s the case, determine what is the argument you want to use. These arguments are the ones that specify the value that the property takes.
  • #2: Use an equal sign to separate the property name from the property value.

As shown in the examples throughout this tutorial, if you’re implementing the NumberFormat property using the framework structure of the sample Format_Dates macro, argument values are generally surrounded by double quotes (” “).

Therefore, if you’re setting the NumberFormat property value, you can use the following syntax:

expression.NumberFormat = “argument_value”

In other words, in order to change the current setting of the NumberFormat property, you use a statement including the following 3 items:

  • Item #1: A reference to the NumberFormat property.
  • Item #2: The equal sign (=).
  • Item #3: The new value of the NumberFormat property, surrounded by double quotes (” “).

As I explain above, the Range.NumberFormat property determines the number format code of a Range object. Therefore, in order to be able to format a date using VBA, you must understand…

Date Format Codes: The Arguments Of The Range.NumberFormat Property

As explained at the Microsoft Dev Center:

The format code is the same string as the Format Codes option in the Format Cells dialog box.

This is quite a mouthful, so let’s break down the statement and process into different parts to understand how you can know which format code you want to apply. More precisely, you can find the string that represents a particular format code in the Format Cells dialog box in the following 5 easy steps.

This process is, mostly, useful if you don’t know the format code you want to apply. Generally, as you become more familiar with number format codes, you’ll be able to create macros that format dates without having to go through this every time. For these purposes, refer to the introduction to date format codes below.

Step #1: Go To The Number Tab Of The Format Cells Dialog Box

You can get to the Format Cells dialog box using any of the following methods:

  • Method #1: Click on the dialog box launcher at the bottom-right corner of the Number command group of the Home Ribbon tab.

    Number dialog box in Excel

  • Method #2: Go to the Home tab of the Ribbon, expand the Number Format drop-down list and select More Number Formats.

    More Number Formats command

  • Method #3: Use the “Ctrl + 1” keyboard shortcut.

Regardless of which of the methods above you use, Excel displays the Format Cells dialog box.

Screenshot of Format Cells dialog in Excel

If you use method #1 or #2 above, Excel displays the Number tab, as in the image above. This is the one you need in order to find the date format codes.

However, if you use method #3 (keyboard shortcut), Excel may show you a tab other than the Number tab (as shown above). In such a case, simply go to the Number tab.

How to go to Number tab in Format Cells dialog

Step #2: Select The Date Category

Since you’re interested in date format codes, choose “Date” in the Category list box on the left side of the Format Cells dialog box.

Excel Date number category in dialog box

Step #3: Choose The Date Format Type Whose Format Code You Want

Once you’ve selected the Date category, Excel displays the built-in date format types inside the Type box on the right side of the Format Cells dialog box. This allows you to select from several different date format types.

For example, in the image above, I select the option “14-Mar-12”:

Format Cells example of date format type

Step #4: Select The Custom Category

Once you’ve selected the date format type you’re interested in, click on “Custom” within the Category list box on the right side of the Format Cells dialog.

Custom number formats in Excel Format Cells dialog box

Step #5: Get The Date Format Code

Once you’ve completed the 4 steps above, Excel displays the date format code that corresponds to the date format type you selected in step #3 above. This format code is shown in the Type box that appears on the upper-right section of the Format Cells dialog box.

Example of format date custom code in Excel

The date format code shown in the example above, is “[$-en-US]d-mmm-yy;@”. This format code corresponds to the option “14-Mar-12” with the English (United States) locale that I selected in step #3.

Once you have this date format code, you can go back to you VBA code and use this as the argument for the Range.NumberFormat property.

To see how this works in practice, let’s go back to the World Cup calendar that I introduce above. If you want to apply the format shown above, the VBA code looks as follows:

VBA macro to format date as d-mm-yy

As I show below, you can achieve the same date formatting effect without the first part of the date format code which makes reference to the locale settings. That means you can delete “[$-en-US]”. However, for the moment, I leave it in.

For purposes of this example, I modify the format of the dates that appear in the sample table. Let’s assume that, before applying this new version of the Format_Dates macro, all of the dates have the long date format, as shown in the following screenshot:

Long date format screenshot in Excel

Before executing the Format_Dates macro, I select the cell that I want to format. In this case, I choose the date in the first row of the table. This corresponds to June 12 of 2014, which is the date of the match between Brazil and Croatia.

Long date format example in Excel

Once I execute the version above of the Format_Dates macro, the date format changes to the following:

Example of date formatted with VBA

The 5-step method to find date format codes described above can be useful in some situations.

However, Excel date format codes follow some general rules. If you know them, you don’t have to go through the whole process described above every single time you want to create a macro that formats dates.

Let’s take a look at these general rules and some additional examples:

Date Format Codes In Excel And VBA: General Guidelines

The date format codes that you can use to format a date using VBA appear in the table below. As shown in the following sections, you can use these codes to create different types of date formats to use in your VBA code.

Format Code Applies To Format Code Description How It Looks In Practice
Month m Month is displayed as number.

It doesn’t include a leading 0.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Month mm Displays month as a number.

If the month is between January (month 1) and September (month 9), it includes a leading 0.

01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12
Month mmm Month name is abbreviated. Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
Month mmmm Full name of month is displayed January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
Month mmmmm Only the first letter of the month name is displayed J, F, M, A, M, J, J, A, S, O, N, D
Day (Number) d The day number is displayed without a leading 0. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
Day (Number) dd The day number is displayed.

For days between 1 and 9, a leading 0 is displayed.

01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
Day (Weekday) ddd The weekday is abbreviated Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
Day (Weekday) dddd The full weekday name is displayed Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Year yy The last 2 digits of the year are displayed 00 to 99
Year yyyy All of the four digits of the year are displayed 1900 to 9999

Note, however, that the Format function (which I mention at the beginning of this Excel tutorial) supports slightly different date format codes from those appear in this table.

The following sections show examples of how all of these different options can be applied to format dates using VBA. For each situation, I show both of the following:

  • The VBA code of the sample Format_Dates macro.
  • The resulting format in one of the dates within the sample table that contains the 2014 Brazil World Cup schedule.

Let’s start taking a look at each of these:

Format Date Using VBA: Display A Single Item Of The Date

You can have Excel display just one of the items of a date, regardless of whether it’s the month, the day or the year. To do this, the argument of the Range.NumberFormat property must only include the format code of the relevant item.

Let’s take a look at the different date formats you can obtain by including a single item, and how does the corresponding VBA code looks like:

Format A Date To Display Only The Month Using VBA

You can display a month using any of the following 5 options:

Option #1: Display The Month As A Number (Without Leading 0)

You can format a date in a way that:

  • Only the month is displayed; and
  • The month is displayed as a number without a leading 0.

In this case, the format code that you use as argument for the NumberFormat property is “m”. The image shows the version of the sample Format_Dates macro that does this:

VBA code example format date as m

Let’s go back to the sample table with the schedule of the 2014 World Cup. I select the second date, which is June 13 of 2014 and corresponds to the match between Mexico and Cameroon.

Excel date before formatting with VBA

The following image shows the results after the date is formatted by the Format_Dates macro. Notice how only the month number (6, corresponding to June) appears. Notice, also, that the value in the Formula Bar continues to be the same. The only thing that changes is the format of the date displayed in the cell itself.

Date formatted in Excel as m

Option #2: Display The Month As A Number (With Leading 0)

This option is similar to the one above. More particularly:

  • Only the month is displayed; and
  • The month is displayed as a number.

However, in this particular case, the month is displayed with a leading 0. In other words, if the relevant month is between January (month 01) and September (month 09), a leading 0 is added.

For these purposes, the VBA code behind the Format_Dates macro looks as follows:

Example of VBA code to format date as mm

This particular macro is applied to the third date in the 2014 World Cup schedule. The date is June 13 of 2014. The teams playing are Spain and Netherlands.

Date before executing date-formatting macro

Once the Format_Dates macro is applied, the date looks as follows in the cell (where the format changes) and the Formula Bar (where the value remains the same):

Excel date formatted as mm with VBA

Option #3: Display The Month As A 3-Letter Abbreviation

If you choose to implement this option, the month name is displayed as a 3-letter abbreviation. In order to achieve this, the VBA code of the Format_Dates macro is as follows:

VBA code to format date as mmm

Let’s continue with the same process of applying the new date formats to the match dates of the 2014 Brazil World Cup. In this case, the relevant date is June 13 of 2014. The match played is between Chile and Australia.

Excel date before formatting by macro

The following image shows how the cell looks like after the new format is applied. As in the previous cases, the value of the date itself (as shown in the Formula Bar), doesn’t change.

Example of date format mmm with VBA

Option #4: Display The Full Name Of The Month

If you want to display the full name of the month that corresponds to a date (not just its abbreviation), the following version of the Format_Dates macro is of help:

VBA code to format date as mmmm

In order to apply this format to a date in the sample 2014 Brazil World Cup schedule, I select the corresponding cell. In this case, the date is June 14 of 2014 and corresponds to the match between Colombia and Greece.

Excel date before mmmm formatting

The results of applying the new version of the Format_Dates macro are shown in the following screenshot:

Excel date with mmmm format from VBA

Option #5: Display The First Letter Of The Month

The fifth way in which you can display just the month when formatting a date using VBA is to display (only) the first letter of the relevant month. In this case, the Format_Dates macro looks as follows:

VBA code to display first day of month name

This macro is applied to the date June 14 of 2014. This date corresponds to the match between Uruguay and Costa Rica.

Date before being formatted in Excel

The results of executing the new macro are shown in the following image:

Date formatted using VBA to display first letter of month

Format A Date To Display Only The Day Number Using VBA

Just as you can use VBA to format a date in a way that only the month is displayed, you can do the same for the day. In other words, you can use Visual Basic for Applications to format a date and have Excel display only the day.

The following 2 sections show how you can modify the sample Format_Dates macro so that only the day (number) is displayed when the date is formatted.

Option #1: Display The Day Number Without Leading 0

If you want Excel to display the day number without a leading 0 while using VBA, you can use the following version of the sample Format_Dates macro:

VBA code to format date as d

The date to which this macro is applied in the sample workbook is June 14 of 2014. In this case, the relevant match is that between England and Italy.

Table with dates before formatting

The results of applying the Format_Dates macro are shown in the following image:

Excel date formatted as d by VBA

Option #2: Display The Day Number With Leading 0

You can format dates in such a way that Excel adds a leading 0 whenever the day is only 1 digit long (1 to 9). The following version of the Format_Dates macro achieves this:

VBA code sample to format date as dd

If I continue going down the 2014 Brazil World Cup match schedule (as until now), this version of the Format_Dates macro would be applied to the date June 14 of 2014. This date corresponds to the match between Ivory Coast and Japan.

Excel sample dates before VBA formatting

However, since this the day (14) doesn’t require a leading 0, the result of applying the new version of the Format_Dates macro would be the same as that obtained above for the date of the match between England and Italy.

Excel date formatted by VBA as dd

To see how this date format works like whenever the corresponding day is only one digit long, I go further down the sample table to one of the matches played at the beginning of July of 2014. More precisely, I apply the current version of the Format_Dates macro to the date July 1 of 2014. The match to which this date corresponds to is that played between Argentina and Switzerland.

Excel dates before VBA formatting

The following image shows the results of applying the Format_Dates macro to this date. Notice how, now, Excel adds a leading 0 to the day number in the cell.

Excel date formatted as dd with leading 0 using VBA

Format A Date To Display Only The Weekday Using VBA

The previous section shows how you can use VBA to format a date in such a way that only the day number is displayed. You can also format a date in such a way that only the weekday is displayed.

The following 2 sections show 2 ways in which you can implement this date format by using VBA.

Option #1: Display The Weekday As A 3-Letter Abbreviation

The first way in which you can format a date to display the weekday allows you to have that weekday shown as a 3-letter abbreviation. The following version of the Format_Dates macro achieves this:

VBA code that formats date as ddd

Let’s go back to the match between Ivory Coast and Japan to which I make reference above and apply this new date format. The date of this match is June 14 of 2014.

Excel dates before formatting with macro

After executing the Format_Dates macro, the date looks as follows:

Excel date formatted as ddd by format-dates macro

Option #2: Display The Full Weekday

The second way in which you can format a date to display the weekday using VBA makes Excel show the full name of the weekday. The following version of the sample Format_Dates macro formats a date in such a way:

VBA code sample to format date as dddd

Let’s execute this macro for purposes of formatting the date of the match between Switzerland and Ecuador in the 2014 Brazil World Cup match schedule. This date, as shown in the image below, is June 15 of 2014.

Excel date before VBA formatting

Running the Format_Dates macro while this particular cell is active causes the following change in the date format:

Excel date with dddd formatting by VBA

Format A Date To Display Only The Year Using VBA

So far, you have seen how you can format a date using VBA for purposes of displaying only the (i) month, (ii) day number or (iii) weekday. In this section, I show you how to format a date using VBA to display only the year.

Let’s take a look at the 2 options you have for these purposes:

Option #1: Display The Last 2 Digits Of The Year

The first way in which you can format a date to display only the year results in Excel displaying only the last 2 digits of the relevant year. To achieve this date format, you can use the following version of the Format_Dates macro:

VBA code example formats dates as yy

This date format is to applied to the date June 15 of 2014. This corresponds to the World Cup match between France and Honduras.

Excel date before being formatted by macro

The following image shows the results of executing the sample Format_Dates macro while this cell is active:

Excel date with yy format applied using VBA

Option #2: Display The Full Year

The second way in which you can format a date to display only the year results in Excel showing the full year. If you want to format a date in such a way using VBA, the following version of the Format_Dates macro achieves this result:

VBA code to format date and display full year

I apply this date format to the date of the match between Argentina and Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is June 15 of 2014.

Excel date not formatted by macro

Once the Format_Dates macro is executed, the results are as shown in the following screenshot:

Excel date after macro formats as yyyy

Format Date Using VBA: Display Several Items Of The Date

The examples in the section above explain different ways in which you can format a date using VBA to display a single item (month, day or year) of that particular date.

Having the ability to format a date in such a way that only a single item is displayed is helpful in certain scenarios. Additionally, once you know the format codes that apply to each of the individual items of a date, you can easily start combining them for purposes of creating more complex and advanced date formats.

In any case, in a lot of cases, you’ll need to format dates in such a way that more than 1 element is displayed. In the following sections, I go through some date formats that result in Excel displaying more than 1 item of the relevant date.

Even though I don’t cover every single date format that you can possibly implement, these examples give you an idea of the possibilities you have at your disposal and how you can implement them in your VBA code.

All of the sections below follow the same form and show 2 things:

  • The version of the Format_Dates macro that is applied.
  • The result of executing that macro for purposes of formatting 1 of the dates of a match in the sample workbook that accompanies this blog post.

Format Date Using VBA: Display m/d/yyyy

The following version of the Format_Dates macro formats a date in the form m/d/yyyy.

VBA code example to format date in form m/d/yyyy

The following image shows the result of applying this format to the date June 16 of 2014. This date corresponds to the match between Germany and Portugal.

Excel date with m/d/yyyy formatting by macro

Format Date Using VBA: Display m/d

To display a date in the form m/d, you can use the following macro:

VBA code example to format date as m/d

When this macro is executed and the cell with the date of the match between Iran and Nigeria (June 16 of 2014) is selected, the formatted date looks as follows:

Excel date with m/d format with VBA

Format Date Using VBA: Display m/d/yy

The following macro formats a date so that it’s displayed in the form m/d/yy:

VBA code example to format date in m/d/yy form

The result of applying this format, using the version of the Format_Dates macro above, to the date of June 16 of 2014 (for the match between Ghana and the USA) is shown below:

Date formatted in Excel as m/d/yy with VBA

Format Date Using VBA: Display mm/dd/yy

You can format a date so that it’s displayed in the form mm/dd/yy by using the following version of the Format_Dates macro:

VBA code formats date as mm/dd/yy

When this date format applied to the date of the World Cup match between Belgium and Algeria (June 17 of 2014), the result is as shown in the following image:

Excel date with mm/dd/yy format with VBA

Format Date Using VBA: Display d-mmm

The following version of the Format_Dates macro makes Excel display the date in the form d-mmm:

VBA code example to format date as d-mmm

The results of executing this macro while the date of the World Cup match between Brazil and Mexico is selected (June 17 of 2014) are shown in the next image:

Date formatted as d-mmm by VBA

Format Date Using VBA: Display d-mmm-yy

The next version of the Format_Dates macro makes Excel display dates using the form d-mmm-yy:

VBA code formatting date to d-mmm-yy

If I choose the cell that shows the date of the match between Russia and Korea (June 17 of 2014) prior to executing this version of the Format_Dates macro, the resulting date format is as follows:

Excel date with d-mmm-yy macro by VBA

Format Date Using VBA: Display dd-mmm-yy

To apply the format dd-mmm-yy to a particular date, you can use the following version of the sample Format_Dates macro:

VBA code sample to format date as dd-mmm-yy

The following screenshot shows the results of applying this version of the Format_Dates macro to the date in which Australia played against the Netherlands in the 2014 Brazil World Cup (June 18 of 2014):

Excel screenshot with date formatted by macro as dd-mmm-yy

Notice that, in this particular case, the resulting date format is exactly the same as that of the date of the match between Russia and Korea which is immediately above (and is used as an example in the previous section). To understand why this is the case, let’s take a look at the date format codes used in each case:

  • Russia vs. Korea (June 17 of 2014) uses the date format code d-mmm-yy.
  • Australia vs. Netherlands (June 18 of 2014) has the date format code dd-mmm-yy.

Notice that the only difference between both format codes is in the way the day is represented. In the first case, the format code uses “d”, which displays the day number without a leading 0. In the second case, the format code is “dd”, which adds a leading 0 whenever the day number has a single digit (between 1 and 9).

In this particular situation, the day numbers of both dates (17 and 18) have 2 digits. Therefore, the format code “dd” doesn’t add a leading 0 to the day number. The result is that shown above:

Both format codes (d-mmm-yy and dd-mmm-yy) result in the same date format when the number of digits of the day is 2 (between 10 and 31).

Let’s go further down the match schedule of the 2014 Brazil World Cup to see how the format code “dd-mmm-yy” adds a leading 0 when applied to a date in which the day number has a single digit:

The image below shows this. In this particular case, the Format_Dates macro is applied to the date July 1 of 2014, when Belgium played against the USA. Notice, especially, the leading 0 in the day number (01 instead of 1).

Example of Excel date format dd-mmm-yy using VBA

Format Date Using VBA: mmm-yy

The following version of the Format_Dates macro allows you to format a date using the form mmm-yy:

VBA code example formats dates in form mmm-yy

The resulting date format when this version of the Format_Date macro is executed is as shown in the image below. The formatted date is June 18 of 2014, corresponding to the match between Spain and Chile.

Excel screenshot with mmm-yy date format from VBA

Format Date Using VBA: mmmm-yy

Continuing with date formats that only display the month and year, the following version of the Format_Dates macro applies the format code mmmm-yy:

Example of VBA code that formats dates as mmmm-yy

The results of executing the macro on the date June 18 of 2014 are shown in the image below. In this case, the date corresponds to the World Cup match between Cameroon and Croatia.

Date formatted with VBA as mmmm-yy

Format Date Using VBA: mmmm d, yyyy

The following version of the sample Format_Dates macro formats dates so that they’re displayed using the form mmmm d, yyyy.

VBA code formatting dates as mmmm d, yyyy

The next image shows the results of executing this macro while a cell with the date June 19 of 2014 is active. This date corresponds to the world cup match between Colombia and Ivory Coast.

Excel date with VBA formatting as mmm d, yyyy

Format Date Using VBA: mmmmm-yy

The following version of the sample Format_Dates macro makes Excel display dates using the format mmmmm-yy.

VBA code to format date as mmmmm-yy

To see how a date looks like when formatted by this version of the Format_Dates macro, let’s go back to the 2014 Brazil World Cup match schedule. The following screenshot shows how the date June 19 of 2014 (for the match between Uruguay and England) looks like after this macro is executed:

Excel date with mmmmm-yy format from VBA

Format Date Using VBA: d-mmm-yyyy

Further above, I show versions of the Format_Dates macro that use the format codes d-mmm-yy and dd-mmm-yy. The version of this macro displayed in the image below results in a similar date format. The main difference between this version and those displayed above is that the version below displays the 4 digits of the year.

Example of VBA code to format dates as d-mmm-yyyy

I execute this macro while the cell with the date of the World Cup match between Japan and Greece (June 19 of 2014) is selected. The resulting date format is displayed in the image below:

Excel date formatted as d-mmm-yyy by VBA

Format Date Using VBA: dddd, mmmm dd, yyyy

The following version of the sample Format_Dates macro makes Excel display dates using the default long date format under the English (United States) locale settings.

VBA code to apply Excel long date format

To see how this looks in practice, check out the following image. This screenshot shows the date of the match between Italy and Costa Rica (June 20 of 2014) after the Format_Dates macro has been executed:

Excel date formatted with VBA to show long date

So far, this Excel tutorial includes 24 different examples of how you can use Visual Basic for Applications to format dates. The date formats introduced in the previous sections are relatively straightforward.

These basic date formats include several of the most commonly used date formats in American English. You can also use them as a basis to create other date formatting macros for less common date formats.

These basic date formats are, however, not the only ones you can apply. More precisely, once you have a good knowledge of how to apply date formats using VBA, you can start creating more complex constructions.

To finish this blog post, I introduce one such date formatting macro:

Format Date Using VBA: Add A Carriage Return To Dates

You can add a carriage return in custom date formats. This allows you to display different items of a date in different lines within a single cell.

Let’s see how this looks in practice:

The following screenshot shows an example of a date format with carriage returns. The formatted date is June 20 of 2014, corresponding to the World Cup match between Switzerland and France.

Example of Excel date format with carriage return

This example works with a date format that only includes month (using the format code mmmm) and year (using the format code yyyy). You can tweak the macro that I introduce below in order to adjust it to your needs and use any other date items or formats.

You can use Visual Basic for Applications for these purposes. The following macro (called “Format_Dates_Carriage_Return”) is the one that I’ve used to achieve the date format shown in the image above.

VBA code formats dates with carriage return

Some of the elements in this piece of VBA code probably look familiar. The following screenshot shows the elements that I introduce in the previous sections of this Excel tutorial:

VBA code to format date with previously explained sections

There are, however, a few other elements that I don’t introduce in the previous sections of this blog post. These are the following 5:

Element #1: With Statement

You can generally identify a With statement because of its basic syntax. This syntax is roughly as follows:

  • Begins with a statement of the form “With object”.

    In the case of the Format_Dates_Carriage_Return macro, this opening statement is “With Selection”. As explained above, the Application.Selection property returns the object that is currently selected. When formatting dates using the sample macro above (Format_Dates_Carriage_Return), the selected object is a range of cells.

    With statement within date-formatting macro

  • Has 1 or more statements in its body.

    You can easily identify these 2 statements within the Format_Dates_Carriage_Return macro due to the fact that they’re indented.

    With...End With block in VBA

  • Closes with an End With statement.

    Example of End With statement in VBA

The effect of using a With statement is that all of the statements within it refer to the same object or structure. In this case:

  • The object to which all of the statements refer to is that returned by the Selection property.
  • The statements that refer to the object returned by Selection are:

    Statement #1: .NumberFormat = “mmmm” & Chr(10) & “yyyy”.

    Statement #2: .RowHeight = .RowHeight * 2.

    Statement #3: .WrapText = True.

    I explain each of these statements below.

Using the With statement allows you to, among other, simplify the syntax of the macro. I use this statement in other sample macros throughout Power Spreadsheets, including macros that delete blank rows.

Element #2: The Ampersand (&) Operator

The first statement within the With…End With block is:

.NumberFormat = “mmmm” & Chr(10) & “yyyy”

Since, as explained above, this statement works with the object returned by the Application.Selection property, it’s the equivalent of:

Selection.NumberFormat = “mmmm” & Chr(10) & “yyyy”

Most of this statement follows exactly the same structure of (pretty much) all of the other macro examples I include in the previous sections. There are, however, a couple of new elements.

One of those new elements is the ampersand (&) operator. Notice how there are 2 ampersands (&) within this statement:

Ampersand in VBA code to format date

Within the Visual Basic for Applications environment, the ampersand (&) operator works in a very similar way to how it works in Excel itself.

This means that, within VBA, ampersand (&) is a concatenation operator. In other words, within the Format_Dates_Carriage_Return macro, ampersand (&) concatenates the 3 following expressions:

  • Expression #1: “mmmm”.
  • Expression #2: Chr(10).
  • Expression #3: “yyyy”.

Expression #2 above leads me to the next and last element you need to be aware of in order to understand the first statement within the With…End With block of the sample macro:

Element #3: The Chr Function

The Chr Function returns a string. The string that is returned is determined by the particular character code that you feed as an argument.

In the sample Format_Dates_Carriage_Return macro, the character code is the number 10. This corresponds to a linefeed character. In other words:

“Chr(10)” is what actually adds the carriage return between the date’s month and year.

The second statement within the With…End With block is also new. Let’s take a look at the new element it introduces:

Element #4: Range.RowHeight Property

The Range.RowHeight property allows you to set the height for a row.

In the Format_Dates_Carriage_Return sample macro, this property is used for purposes of doubling the height of the row for which you’re changing the date format. This is done by the statement:

.RowHeight = .RowHeight * 2

The expression to the right side of the equal sign (=) takes the current row height and, using the asterisk (*) operator, multiplies it by 2. The result of applying this property change to the sample chart with the 2014 Brazil World Cup Match Schedule is that a row can now fit the 2 date elements that are separated by the carriage return.

Compare the following 2 screenshots to see the difference this statement makes in the date format. The first image shows what happens when the Format_Dates_Carriage_Return macro is executed without having the statement under analysis. The formatted date, which corresponds to the match between Honduras and Ecuador, is June 20 of 2014.

Example of Excel date not fully formatted

The image below shows the result of including the Range.RowHeight property for purposes of doubling the row height. The formatted date corresponds to that of the match between Argentina and Iran (June 21 of 2014).

Excel date before text wrap with double row height

Notice that this format isn’t yet what we want. More precisely, the month and year that correspond to the formatted date are displayed on the same line. Element #5, which I explain below, fixes this.

If the height of the cells whose date format you’re modifying is enough to fit all of the elements/lines, you may not need to include this particular statement in your date-formatting macro. In other cases, you may need to change the factor by which you multiply the current row height. In other words, instead of using the number 2 at the end of the statement (as I do in the sample macro), you may need to use a different number.

The use of the Range.RowHeight property is optional and doesn’t affect the date format of the selected cells. You may choose to omit it from your macros, or work with a different property.

The reason why I use RowHeight in the sample Format_Dates_Carriage_Return is for illustration purposes only. In particular, it ensures that the cell that I format using this macro shows the complete date.

Let’s take a look at the fifth and last of the new elements introduced in the sample Format_Dates_Carriage_Return macro:

Element #5: Range.WrapText Property

The Range.WrapText Property allows you to determine whether Excel wraps the text within the relevant range object. In the sample Format_Dates_Carriage_Return macro, that relevant range object is the range of cells returned by the Application.Selection property.

Within the Format_Dates_Carriage_Return macro, the WrapText property is used for purposes of wrapping the text within its own cell. More precisely, the following statement sets the property to True for all the cells within the range returned by the Selection property:

.WrapText = True

The last image I show when explaining the Range.RowHeight property above displays both the month and the year on the same line. The following image allows you to compare the results obtained when I execute: (i) the macro version that doesn’t include the WrapText property (for the date of the match between Argentina and Iran) and (ii) the macro version that uses the WrapText property (for the match between Germany and Ghana):

Excel date formatted with carriage return using VBA

Conclusion

This Excel tutorial explains the Range.NumberFormat property in great detail and shows how you can use it for purposes of formatting dates using VBA.

As you’ve probably realized, successfully applying date formats using VBA generally boils down to knowing and understanding the following 2 topics:

  • Item #1: The Range.NumberFormat property.
  • Item #2: Date format codes.

In addition to reading about these 2 items, you’ve seen 25 different date formatting examples using VBA. Such a long list of examples may seem a little excessive, and there are several similarities between some of the date formats I applied.

However, these 25 examples are evidence of the flexibility you have when formatting dates using VBA. At the same time, they provide a base for you to create your own macros to apply different date formats.

This Excel VBA Date Format Tutorial is accompanied by an Excel workbook containing the data and some versions of the macros I explain above. You can get immediate free access to this example workbook by subscribing to the Power Spreadsheets Newsletter.

Books Referenced In This Excel Tutorial

  • Alexander, Michael (2015). Excel Macros for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
  • Walkenbach, John (2013). Excel VBA Programming for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Excel VBA Now Function

NOW is a DATE and TIME function in both VBA used to get the current system date and time. Like the worksheet function, which does not take any arguments, in VBA, the NOW function does not take any arguments. The return output for this function is the date.

The VBA NOW function is similar to the one in the Excel worksheet function. Like the DATE function in VBAVBA Date is a date and time function. It returns only the current date as per the system date you are using and has no arguments whatsoever. This function returns the current system date.read more, the NOW function does not have parameters to pass in. We need to pass the function with closed parenthesis or not need for parenthesis. Using the DATE function in VBA, we can generate the current date showing the system we are working on. However, we have seen situations where we need the current time and date. In Excel, we can do various things. Similarly, we can generate the current date and time with a simple function called NOW in excelIn an excel worksheet, the NOW function is used to display the current system date and time. The syntax for using this function is quite simple =NOW ().read more.

Table of contents
  • Excel VBA Now Function
    • Example of NOW Function in VBA Excel
    • Alternative to Timer Function in VBA
    • Recommended Articles

VBA Now

You are free to use this image on your website, templates, etc, Please provide us with an attribution linkArticle Link to be Hyperlinked
For eg:
Source: VBA Now (wallstreetmojo.com)

The formula of the VBA NOW is simple.

NOW ()

Example of NOW Function in VBA Excel

Look at the simple example of the NOW function in VBA. Then, follow the below steps to write the VBA codeVBA code refers to a set of instructions written by the user in the Visual Basic Applications programming language on a Visual Basic Editor (VBE) to perform a specific task.read more Have a fair bit of knowledge on NOW and writing the code.

Step 1: Start the sub procedure by giving a macro name.

Code:

Sub Now_Example1()

End Sub

VBA Now Example 1

Step 2: Declare the variable as “Date.” We need to declare the variable as “Date” because our result is in the date and time format.

Code:

Sub Now_Example1()

Dim k As Date

End Sub

Example 1-1

Step 3: Assign the value to the variable “k” by applying VBA NOW function.

Code:

Sub Now_Example1()

Dim k As Date

k = Now

End Sub

Example 1-2

Step 4: Now, show the value of the NOW function assigned to the variable “k” in the message box in VBAVBA MsgBox function is an output function which displays the generalized message provided by the developer. This statement has no arguments and the personalized messages in this function are written under the double quotes while for the values the variable reference is provided.read more.

Code:

Sub Now_Example1()

Dim k As Date

k = Now

MsgBox k

End Sub

VBA Now Example 1-3

We have completed it now.

Run the code using the F5 key or manually and see the result.

VBA Now Example 1-4

The result shows 4/15/2019 at 5:03:35.

My computer date format is “mm-dd-yyyy.”

We can also change the date format by using the FORMAT function. Below is the code to change the date format.

Code:

Sub Now_Example1()

Dim k As Date

k = Now

MsgBox Format(k, "DD-MMM-YYYY HH:MM:SS")

End Sub

Example 1-5

Run the code and see the difference.

VBA Now Example 1-6

Now, we have an accurate date and time format. With this format, anybody can understand the date and time format.

Volatile in Nature:

As you can see in the first example, we got the time result as 5:03:35. In the second example, we got the result as 17:19:02. So this shows that the NOW function is a volatile function that changes every second.

Alternative to Timer Function in VBA

As an alternative to VBA TIMERVBA timer is an inbuilt function to give us the fractional value of seconds. Sometimes, it is used to pause any set of codes running or resume them based on the time provided. A timer is used as a statement in VBA with the input of time.read more, we can use the “VBA NOW” function to calculate the total time taken by the macro to complete the task.

Use the below code to calculate the time taken by your code.

C0de:

Sub TotalDuration()

Dim k As Date

k = Now

'

'

'Enter your code here
'

'

'
    MsgBox "Total Time Taken by the  macro to complete the task is : " & _
Format((Now - k), "HH:MM:SS")
End Sub

Example 2

In the green-colored area, copy and paste your code.

Execute the code by pressing the F5 key or the run button. As soon as it completes the execution, we will get the time taken by the macro to complete the task message in the message box. Below is an example of the same.

VBA Now Example 2-1

Like this, we can use the NOW function in many ways in VBA.

You can download this Excel VBA Now Function template here – VBA Now Function Template

Recommended Articles

This article has been a guide to VBA Now. Here, we learn how to use the Now function in Excel VBA, its alternative to the time function, and simple to advanced examples. Below are some useful Excel articles related to VBA: –

  • VBA Change Font Color
  • Sleep in VBA
  • For Each Loop in VBA
  • Data Type in VBA

Содержание

  1. VBA NOW Function in Excel
  2. Syntax of VBA Now Function
  3. Parameters or Arguments
  4. Where we can apply or use the VBA Now Function?
  5. Example 1: Display current system date and time on the screen
  6. Example 2: Display current system date and Time on the Worksheet
  7. Example 3: Change Date and Time Format
  8. Download File
  9. Instructions to Run VBA Macro Code or Procedure:
  10. Other Useful Resources:
  11. VBA – Get Today’s Date (Current Date)
  12. Date() function
  13. Now() Function
  14. Comparing 2 Dates with VBA
  15. VBA Coding Made Easy
  16. VBA Code Examples Add-in
  17. VBA Now Function – Get Current Date & Time
  18. Now Description
  19. Simple Now Examples
  20. Now Syntax
  21. Examples of Excel VBA Now Function
  22. VBA Coding Made Easy
  23. VBA Code Examples Add-in
  24. VBA Code Generator
  25. AutoMacro: VBA Add-in with Hundreds of Ready-To-Use VBA Code Examples & much more!
  26. What is AutoMacro?
  27. VBA Now
  28. Excel VBA Now Function
  29. Example of NOW Function in VBA Excel
  30. Alternative to Timer Function in VBA
  31. Recommended Articles
  32. VBA Excel. Функция Format (синтаксис, параметры, примеры)
  33. Определение функции Format
  34. Синтаксис и параметры
  35. Именованные выражения форматов
  36. Именные форматы даты и времени
  37. Именованные форматы чисел
  38. Специальные символы для выражений форматов
  39. Символы для форматов даты и времени
  40. Символы для числовых форматов
  41. Символы для текстовых форматов
  42. Форматы для различных значений одного выражения
  43. Различные форматы для разных числовых значений

VBA NOW Function in Excel

VBA Now Function in Excel is a built-in function in MS Excel. It does not take any input arguments or parameters. It returns the current system date and time. It is a ‘Data and Time’ type function. Default format of the Now Function is ‘mm/dd/yyyy HH:MM:SS AM/PM’. The Now function we can use in worksheet as well. The VBA Now Function can be used in either procedure or function in a VBA editor window in Excel. We can use the VBA Now Function any number of times in any number of procedures or functions. In the following section we learn what is the syntax and parameters of the Now Function, where we can use this VBA Now Function, real-time examples and Instructions.

Syntax of VBA Now Function

The syntax of the VBA Now Function is

In the above syntax parentheses is optional. If there is no argument, then no need to specify parentheses.

Parameters or Arguments

There are no parameters or arguments for the Now Function.

Where we can apply or use the VBA Now Function?

We can use this VBA date function in MS Office 365, MS Excel 2016, MS Excel 2013, 2011, Excel 2010, Excel 2007, Excel 2003, Excel 2016 for Mac, Excel 2011 for Mac, Excel Online, Excel for iPhone, Excel for iPad, Excel for Android tablets and Excel for Android Mobiles.

Example 1: Display current system date and time on the screen

Here is a simple example of the VBA Now Function. This below example macro uses the Now Function and displays the current system date and time.

In the above example ‘sCurrentDate’ declared as a Date data type. This variable ‘sCurrentDate’ now contains the current system date and time.
Output: It displays current system date and time on the screen. Here is the screen shot of first example output.

Example 2: Display current system date and Time on the Worksheet

Here is another example of the VBA Now Function. This below example macro uses the Now Function and displays the current system date and time on the Worksheet named ‘VBAf1.com’ in Range B18.

Note: Difference between first output and second output is format of the date and time.
Output: Here is the screen shot of second example output.

Example 3: Change Date and Time Format

Here is one more example with VBA Now Function. This below example macro uses the Now Function and changes the format of the date and time. Finally, it displays the current system date and time on the screen.

Output: Here is the screen shot of third example output.

Download File

Click on following link to download free example excel workbook to learn more about VBA Now function.

Instructions to Run VBA Macro Code or Procedure:

You can refer the following link for the step by step instructions.

Other Useful Resources:

Click on the following links of the useful resources. These helps to learn and gain more knowledge.

Источник

VBA – Get Today’s Date (Current Date)

In this Article

This tutorial will demonstrate how to get today’s date in VBA.

There are a couple of ways to obtain today’s date in VBA code, namely using the VBA Date() function or the VBA Now() functions.

Date() function

The Date() Function returns today’s date. In the example below, we assign today’s date to a variable and then display the date in the immediate window in the VBE Editor.

Alternatively, we can display the date in a message box.

Now() Function

The Now() Function works in the same way as the date function, but it includes the time.

Formatting Dates with VBA

In both the Date() and the Now() functions, the date is formatted in a default style as determined by the settings on our PC. We can customize this formatting using the VBA Format function. As the format function will return a string, we need to declare a STRING variable rather than a DATE variable.

We can also format the Now() function to include the time portion in a customized format.

Comparing 2 Dates with VBA

We can also use the Date function to compare today’s date with a different date – we might want to calculate how many days there are until an event! We can do this using the VBA DateDiff() function which will return a number. We can therefore declare an INTEGER variable to store the returned value in.

As Dates are stored as numbers, we could also minus the second date from the first to obtain the same answer.

VBA Coding Made Easy

Stop searching for VBA code online. Learn more about AutoMacro — A VBA Code Builder that allows beginners to code procedures from scratch with minimal coding knowledge and with many time-saving features for all users!

VBA Code Examples Add-in

Easily access all of the code examples found on our site.

Simply navigate to the menu, click, and the code will be inserted directly into your module. .xlam add-in.

Источник

VBA Now Function – Get Current Date & Time

In this Article

Now Description

Returns the current system date and time.

Simple Now Examples

Here is a simple Now example:

This code will return the current system date and time.

Now Syntax

In the VBA Editor, the syntax for the Now function.

The Now function contains no arguments:

Examples of Excel VBA Now Function

In this example, the variable “CurrentDateTime” would contain the current system date and time.

VBA Coding Made Easy

Stop searching for VBA code online. Learn more about AutoMacro — A VBA Code Builder that allows beginners to code procedures from scratch with minimal coding knowledge and with many time-saving features for all users!

VBA Code Examples Add-in

Easily access all of the code examples found on our site.

Simply navigate to the menu, click, and the code will be inserted directly into your module. .xlam add-in.

(No installation required!)

VBA Code Generator

AutoMacro: VBA Add-in with Hundreds of Ready-To-Use VBA Code Examples & much more!

What is AutoMacro?

AutoMacro is an add-in for VBA that installs directly into the Visual Basic Editor. It comes loaded with code generators, an extensive code library, the ability to create your own code library, and many other time-saving tools and utilities that add much needed functionality to the outdated VBA Editor.

Источник

VBA Now

Excel VBA Now Function

NOW is a DATE and TIME function in both VBA used to get the current system date and time. Like the worksheet function, which does not take any arguments, in VBA, the NOW function does not take any arguments. The return output for this function is the date.

The VBA NOW function is similar to the one in the Excel worksheet function. Like the DATE function in VBA DATE Function In VBA VBA Date is a date and time function. It returns only the current date as per the system date you are using and has no arguments whatsoever. This function returns the current system date. read more , the NOW function does not have parameters to pass in. We need to pass the function with closed parenthesis or not need for parenthesis. Using the DATE function in VBA, we can generate the current date showing the system we are working on. However, we have seen situations where we need the current time and date. In Excel, we can do various things. Similarly, we can generate the current date and time with a simple function called NOW in excel Function Called NOW In Excel In an excel worksheet, the NOW function is used to display the current system date and time. The syntax for using this function is quite simple =NOW (). read more .

Table of contents

You are free to use this image on your website, templates, etc., Please provide us with an attribution link How to Provide Attribution? Article Link to be Hyperlinked
For eg:
Source: VBA Now (wallstreetmojo.com)

The formula of the VBA NOW is simple.

Example of NOW Function in VBA Excel

Step 1: Start the sub procedure by giving a macro name.

Code:

Step 2: Declare the variable as “Date.” We need to declare the variable as “Date” because our result is in the date and time format.

Code:

Step 3: Assign the value to the variable “k” by applying VBA NOW function.

Code:

Code:

We have completed it now.

Run the code using the F5 key or manually and see the result.

The result shows 4/15/2019 at 5:03:35.

My computer date format is “mm-dd-yyyy.”

We can also change the date format by using the FORMAT function. Below is the code to change the date format.

Code:

Run the code and see the difference.

Now, we have an accurate date and time format. With this format, anybody can understand the date and time format.

Volatile in Nature:

As you can see in the first example, we got the time result as 5:03:35. In the second example, we got the result as 17:19:02. So this shows that the NOW function is a volatile function that changes every second.

Alternative to Timer Function in VBA

Use the below code to calculate the time taken by your code.

C0de:

In the green-colored area, copy and paste your code.

Execute the code by pressing the F5 key or the run button. As soon as it completes the execution, we will get the time taken by the macro to complete the task message in the message box. Below is an example of the same.

Like this, we can use the NOW function in many ways in VBA.

You can download this Excel VBA Now Function template here – VBA Now Function Template

Recommended Articles

This article has been a guide to VBA Now. Here, we learn how to use the Now function in Excel VBA, its alternative to the time function, and simple to advanced examples. Below are some useful Excel articles related to VBA: –

Источник

VBA Excel. Функция Format (синтаксис, параметры, примеры)

Преобразование чисел, дат и строк в настраиваемый текстовый формат из кода VBA Excel с помощью функции Format. Синтаксис, параметры, символы, примеры.

Определение функции Format

Синтаксис и параметры

Format(Expression, [FormatExpression], [FirstDayOfWeek], [FirstWeekOfYear])

  • Expression – любое допустимое выражение (переменная), возвращающее числовое значение или строку (обязательный параметр).
  • FormatExpression – выражение формата, именованное или содержащее инструкции из специальных символов (необязательный параметр).
  • FirstDayOfWeek – константа, задающая первый день недели (необязательный параметр).
  • FirstWeekOfYear – константа, задающая первую неделю года (необязательный параметр).

Именованные выражения форматов

Именные форматы даты и времени

Имя формата Описание
General Date Стандартное отображение даты и времени в соответствии с параметрами системы.
Long Date Длинный формат даты.
Medium Date Средний формат даты.
Short Date Краткий формат даты.
Long Time Длинный формат времени.
Medium Time Средний формат времени.
Short Time Краткий формат времени.

Проверьте отображение даты и времени с использованием именованных форматов на вашем компьютере при помощи следующего кода VBA Excel:

Скорее всего, результат будет таким:

Именованные форматы чисел

Имя формата Описание
General Number Стандартное отображение числа без знака разделителя групп разрядов.
Currency Денежный формат.
Fixed Отображение числа без знака разделителя групп разрядов с двумя цифрами после разделителя целой и дробной части.
Standard Отображение числа со знаком разделителя групп разрядов и с двумя цифрами после разделителя целой и дробной части.
Percent Процентный формат: отображение числа, умноженного на 100, со знаком процента (%), добавленного справа.
Scientific Отображение числа в экспоненциальном виде.
Yes/No Возвращается «Нет», если число равно 0, иначе отображается «Да».
True/False Возвращается «Ложь», если число равно 0, иначе отображается «Истина».
On/Off Возвращается «Выкл», если число равно 0, иначе отображается «Вкл».

Проверяем работу именованных форматов на числах 2641387.7381962 и 0 с помощью кода VBA Excel:

Получаем следующий результат:

Вместо вопросительного знака в отображении числа в формате Currency, по идее, должен быть знак валюты (₽ или руб.).

Специальные символы для выражений форматов

Символы для форматов даты и времени

Символ Описание
Точка (.) Разделитель компонентов даты (день, месяц, год). Используется при отображении месяца в виде числа.
Пробел Разделитель компонентов даты (день, месяц, год). Используется при отображении месяца прописью.
Двоеточие (:) Разделитель компонентов времени (часы, минуты, секунды).
d День в виде числа без нуля в начале (1–31).
dd День в виде числа с нулем в начале (01–31).
m Месяц в виде числа без нуля в начале (1–12). Если (m) следует после (h) или (hh), отображаются минуты (0–59).
mm Месяц в виде числа с нулем в начале (01–12). Если (mm) следует после (h) или (hh), отображаются минуты (00–59).
mmm Месяц прописью в сокращенном виде (янв–дек).
mmmm Полное название месяца (январь–декабрь).
y День года в виде числа (1–366).
yy Год в виде 2-значного числа (00–99).
yyyy Год в виде 4-значного числа (1900–9999).
h Часы в виде числа без нуля в начале (0–23).
hh Часы в виде числа с нулем в начале (00–23).
n (m) Минуты в виде числа без нуля в начале (0–59).
nn (mm) Минуты в виде числа с нулем в начале (00–59).
s Секунды в виде числа без нуля в начале (0–59).
ss Секунды в виде числа с нулем в начале (00–59).

В этой таблице перечислены далеко не все символы для выражений форматов даты и времени. Вы можете ознакомиться со всеми символами, в том числе и для форматирования чисел, на сайте разработчика.

Примеры отображения даты с помощью разных по количеству наборов символа d:

Символы для числовых форматов

Символ Описание
Точка (.) Десятичный разделитель.
Запятая (,) Разделитель групп разрядов. В отображаемых числах заполняется пробелом.
(0) Заполнитель, который отображает цифру или ноль. Используется, когда нужны ведущие нули или нули в конце числа.
(#) Заполнитель, который отображает цифру или ничего не отображает. Используется, когда не нужны ведущие нули или нули в конце числа.
(%) Заполнитель процента. Выражение умножается на 100, а знак процента (%) вставляется на той позиции, где он указан в строке формата.
(E- E+ e- e+) Экспоненциальный формат.

Примеры использования символов в выражениях числовых форматов VBA Excel:

Символы для текстовых форматов

Символ Описание
At-символ (@) Заполнитель для символов, отображающий знак или пробел.
Амперсанд (&) Заполнитель для символов, отображающий знак или ничего (пустая строка).
Меньше ( ) Принудительный перевод всех буквенных символов в верхний регистр.

Примеры использования символов в выражениях строковых форматов VBA Excel:

Форматы для различных значений одного выражения

Различные форматы для разных числовых значений

В выражении формата для чисел предусмотрено от одного до четырех разделов, отделяемых друг от друга точкой с запятой. Отображаемая строка зависит от значения, возвращенного параметром Expression функции Format.

Количество разделов Результат форматирования
Один раздел Выражение формата применяется ко всем значениям.
Два раздела Первый раздел применяется к положительным значениям и нулям, второй – к отрицательным значениям.
Три раздела Первый раздел применяется к положительным значениям, второй – к отрицательным значениям, третий – к нулям.
Четыре раздела Первый раздел применяется к положительным значениям, второй – к отрицательным значениям, третий – к нулям, четвертый – к значениям Null.

Пример использования четырех разделов в выражении формата числовых значений:

Источник

И так, в этой по своей природе унылой публикации я кратко рассмотрю vba функции даты и времени, которые позволяют получить или установить параметры даты и времени, задать таймер выполнения заданного блока кода или сценария в целом. Также в конце статьи будет затронута функция vba языка format. Которая отвечает за форматирование данных.

Функции VBA даты и времени

Date() – позволяет получить значение текущей даты, установленной в системе.

Time() – вернет установленное в системе время

Now() – комбинированная функция, так как она позволяет получить значение системной даты и времени.

DateAdd(интервал, число, дата) – позволяет прибавить к заданной дате (параметр “дата”) указанное количество лет, кварталов, месяцев или секунд. На выходе мы получим следующее значение: дата + (число * интервал).

DateDiff(интервал, дата, дата2) – позволяет получить разницу между заданными датами, например. В годах, месяцах и так далее, разница определяется параметром “интервал”.

DatePart(интервал, дата) – позволяет получить заданную часть даты, например, только значение года, месяца или дня недели. Результат возврата регулируется параметром “интервал”.

DateSerial(год, месяц, день) – данная функция vba принимает три числовые значения, по которым возвращается дата.

DateValue(строка) – аналог предыдущей функции, но тут в качестве параметра мы передаем не числа. А строковое значение, на основе которого будет возвращаться дата, vba работа с датами.

Day(дата) – позволяет получить значение текущего дня (если отсутствует параметр “дата”) или для заданной даты.

Year(дата) – позволяет получить значение текущего года (если отсутствует параметр “дата”) или для заданной даты.

Month(дата) – позволяет получить значение текущего месяца (если отсутствует параметр “дата”) или для заданной даты.

Weekday(дата) – позволяет получить значение текущей недели (если отсутствует параметр “дата”) или для заданной даты.

Hour(время) – позволяет получить текущее значение часов (если отсутствует параметр “время”) или для заданного времени, vba дата и время.

Minute(время) – позволяет получить текущее значение минут (если отсутствует параметр “время”) или для заданного времени.

Second(время) – позволяет получить текущее значение секунд (если отсутствует параметр “время”) или для заданного времени.

Timer() – удобная функция для определения промежутка времени, ушедшего на выполнение заданного блока кода. Сама функция возвращает целое количество секунд, которые прошли начиная с полуночи.

TimeSerial(часы, минуты, секунды) – позволяет получить время, заданное тремя параметрами

TimeValue(строка) – работает аналогично предыдущей функции, но для получения времени, передается не целое значение, а строковое.

MonthName(числовое значение) – VBA функция позволяет получить название месяца, в качестве параметра указываем номер месяца.

WeekDay(дата) — задает возвращает имя месяца словами по его номеру. Возвращаемое значение зависит от региональных настроек. Если они русские, то вернется русское название месяца.

Помимо указанных выше vba функций даты и времени, можно использовать и такие вариации:

Date (дата) – позволяет задать системную дату

Time (время) – позволяет задать системное время.

В приведенных выше функциях даты и времени vba языка используется параметр “интервал”, который может принимать следующие значения:

  • w – недели
  • q – квартал
  • d – месяца
  • y – года

VBA функции форматирование данных

Для форматирования данных в языке VBA используется функция Format, которая позволяет сформировать данные любого встроенного типа, используя заданный образец. Общий синтаксис функции format:

Format(Выражение, [“формат”, [первый день недели, [первая неделя года]]]) – тут параметр “выражение” является любым допустимым значением. Формат – необязательный параметр, который задает формат данных, должен заключаться в кавычки. Остальные два параметра также являются необязательными, и задают день недели, который нужно считать первым, и первую неделю года.

Параметр формат может принимать следующие значения:

  • General Number – числовое значение без выделения разрядов тысяч, например, 12150,2003
  • Currency – денежный формат, выделяются тысячные разряды и два знака после запятой, например, 255,33р.
  • Fixed – числовое значение без выделения разрядов тысяч и двумя знаками после запятой, например, 22439,12.
  • Standart – числовое значение, которое умножается на 100, при этом, остаются два знака после запятой и символ процента, например, 55,63%.
  • Scientific – числовой формат для научных вычисление, например, 5,23Е+03
  • Yes/No – данный параметр определяет, что функция вернет “Да” если форматированное выражение содержит строку Нет, или ненулевое значение и “Нет” в противном случае.
  • True/False – аналог предыдущего параметра, но для строк “Истина” и “Ложь”.
  • On/Off – для строк вида “Вкл” и “Выкл”.
  • General Date – форматирование выражения в соответствии с установленными в системе стандартами даты и времени, например, 10.11.02 12:25:50
  • Long Date – вывод полного формата даты, в зависимости от установок в системе, например, 10 октября 2013 г, vba функции даты.
  • Medium Date – средний формат дат, например, 10-Окт-13.
  • Short Date – короткий вывод формата даты, например, 10.10.13.
  • Long Time – вывод в формате времени (часы, минуты, секунды), например, 12:20:40.
  • Medium Time – 12 часовой формат времени (часы, минуты), например, 05:30.
  • Short Time — 24 часовой формат времени (часы, минуты), например, 17:30.
  • Remove From My Forums
  • Question

  • Dear all,

    I need to get the date time return by NOW(9 to be formatted using milliseconds as well, what is the way to do that using VBA ?

    thnaks for advide

    regards

Answers

  • The VBA function Now doesn’t return milliseconds. You can use the Timer function for this purpose, for example:

    Dim s As String
    s = Format(Now, «yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss») & Right(Format(Timer, «0.000»), 4)

    P.S. the last digit will always be 0.


    Regards, Hans Vogelaar (http://www.eileenslounge.com)

    • Marked as answer by

      Tuesday, April 16, 2019 7:58 AM

goldfish

Well-known Member

Joined
Aug 23, 2005
Messages
712


  • #1

I got the formatting that I want down which is «yyyymmddHhNnSs», but I haven’t be able to figure out which VBA function to use to change Now() from

to

Like I want it.

Further more I would like to Write code do do the following

Code:

Sub ArchiveFile()
If [File Test.zip already exists] Then
[Move Test.zip to Test.20070726124526.zip]
End If
End Sub

Thanks,
~Gold Fish

Excel Facts

Did you know Excel offers Filter by Selection?

Add the AutoFilter icon to the Quick Access Toolbar. Select a cell containing Apple, click AutoFilter, and you will get all rows with Apple

Jonmo1

Jonmo1

MrExcel MVP

Joined
Oct 12, 2006
Messages
44,061


  • #2

x = format(now,»yyyymmddhhnnss»)

Norie

Norie

Well-known Member

Joined
Apr 28, 2004
Messages
76,358
Office Version
  1. 365
Platform
  1. Windows


  • #3

Your title is almost the exact code you need.:)

Code:

Msgbox Format(Now(),"yyyymmddHhNnSs")

goldfish

Well-known Member

Joined
Aug 23, 2005
Messages
712


  • #4

Bah, Format! Duh, no wonder it didn’t come up in my help search for «Date».

Thanks!

Part 2 anyone?

Code:

Sub ArchiveFile() 
If [File Test.zip already exists] Then 
[Move Test.zip to Test.20070726124526.zip] 
End If 
End Sub

Where 20070726124526 is the date modified of Test.zip?

Thanks,
~Gold Fish

Norie

Norie

Well-known Member

Joined
Apr 28, 2004
Messages
76,358
Office Version
  1. 365
Platform
  1. Windows


  • #5

Well we would probably also need the path for that one.

Code:

If Dir("C:File Test.Zip")<>"" Then
      Name "C:File Test.Zip" As "C:Test." &  Format(Now(),"yyyymmddHhNnSs") & ".Zip"
End If

goldfish

Well-known Member

Joined
Aug 23, 2005
Messages
712


  • #6

Throw in a little «FileDateTime» and I have myself some code!

Thanks Jonmo1 and Norie!

~Gold Fish

Similar threads

totn Excel Functions


This Excel tutorial explains how to use the Excel FORMAT function (as it applies to date values) with syntax and examples.

Description

The Microsoft Excel FORMAT function takes a date expression and returns it as a formatted string.

The FORMAT function is a built-in function in Excel that is categorized as a Date/Time Function. It can be used as a VBA function (VBA) in Excel. As a VBA function, you can use this function in macro code that is entered through the Microsoft Visual Basic Editor.

Syntax

The syntax for the FORMAT function in Microsoft Excel is:

Format ( expression, [ format, [ firstdayofweek, [firstweekofyear] ] ] )

Parameters or Arguments

expression
The date value to format.
format

Optional. It is the format to apply to the expression. You can either define your own format or use one of the named formats that Excel has predefined such as:

Format Explanation
General Date Displays date based on your system settings
Long Date Displays date based on your system’s long date setting
Medium Date Displays date based on your system’s medium date setting
Short Date Displays date based on your system’s short date setting
Long Time Displays time based on your system’s long time setting
Medium Time Displays time based on your system’s medium time setting
Short Time Displays time based on your system’s short time setting
firstdayofweek

Optional. It is a value that specifies the first day of the week. If this parameter is omitted, it assumes that Sunday is the first day of the week. This parameter can be one of the following values:

Constant Value Explanation
vbUseSystem 0 Uses the NLS API setting
VbSunday 1 Sunday (default, if parameter is omitted)
vbMonday 2 Monday
vbTuesday 3 Tuesday
vbWednesday 4 Wednesday
vbThursday 5 Thursday
vbFriday 6 Friday
vbSaturday 7 Saturday
firstweekofyear

Optional. It is a value that specifies the first week of the year. If this parameter is omitted, it assumes that the week that contains January 1 is the first week of the year. This parameter can be one of the following values:

Constant Value Explanation
vbUseSystem 0 Uses the NLS API setting
vbFirstJan1 1 The week that contains January 1
vbFirstFourDays 2 The first week that has at least 4 days in the year
vbFirstFullWeek 3 The first full week of the year

Returns

The FORMAT function returns a string value.

Applies To

  • Excel for Office 365, Excel 2019, Excel 2016, Excel 2013, Excel 2011 for Mac, Excel 2010, Excel 2007, Excel 2003, Excel XP, Excel 2000

Type of Function

  • VBA function (VBA)

Example (as VBA Function)

The FORMAT function can only be used in VBA code in Microsoft Excel.

Let’s look at some Excel FORMAT function examples and explore how to use the FORMAT function in Excel VBA code:

Format(#17/04/2004#, "Short Date")
Result: '17/04/2004'

Format(#17/04/2004#, "Long Date")
Result: 'April 17, 2004'

Format(#17/04/2004#, "yyyy/mm/dd")
Result: '2004/04/17'

For example:

Dim LValue As String

LValue = Format(Date, "yyyy/mm/dd")

In this example, the variable called LValue would now contain the date formatted as yyyy/mm/dd.

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