You can do this with Text to Columns.

Select the single column of numbers, then in the 3rd step choose as follows, then press Finish.

which leaves you with proper Excel dates:

I'm in the UK with default DMY so the above is showing as such, your dates will show as in your locale, maybe like this:

๐ŸŒ
Microsoft Support
support.microsoft.com โ€บ en-us โ€บ office โ€บ format-a-date-the-way-you-want-in-excel-8e10019e-d5d8-47a1-ba95-db95123d273e
Format a date the way you want in Excel - Microsoft Support
To enter a date that will update to the current date each time you reopen a worksheet or recalculate a formula, type =TODAY() in an empty cell, and then press ENTER. When you enter some text into a cell such as "2/2", Excel assumes that this is a date and formats it according to the default ...
Discussions

java dateformat - Change date format of cell in excel from dd.mm.yyyy to yyy/mm/dd ( excel version 2013 ) - Stack Overflow
Failed when the date format is not in one recognized by excel. When excel can recognize the string as a valid format it automatically converts it to a date for math and functions. 2016-06-03T09:57:09.237Z+00:00 ... @Robin Does your formula still work when you change the dashes (-) to decimals (.)? More on stackoverflow.com
๐ŸŒ stackoverflow.com
Returning a date format in a formula as date format (currently showing as text)
I have a simple formula that looks at cells to return a string of data - release date , Artist, Title Release date is in column M, Artist in column B, title in column C i want to come back with the following data Release date = 12/03/2021 - Black Crowes - Southern Harmony my formula looks... More on mrexcel.com
๐ŸŒ mrexcel.com
8
0
February 20, 2021
How do you convert date format to another?
u/InstaMastery - Your post was submitted successfully. Once your problem is solved, reply to the answer(s) saying Solution Verified to close the thread. Follow the submission rules -- particularly 1 and 2. To fix the body, click edit. To fix your title, delete and re-post. Include your Excel version and all other relevant information Failing to follow these steps may result in your post being removed without warning. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns. More on reddit.com
๐ŸŒ r/excel
10
1
December 16, 2021
Formula to format "MM/DD/YYYY" and "M/D/YYYY" strings as date in Excel - Stack Overflow
I have strings in two formats in the Excel column "MM/DD/YYYY" (04/06/2020 etc.) and "M/D/YYYY" (3/18/2021 etc.). I would like to change them to date. The below formula works on... More on stackoverflow.com
๐ŸŒ stackoverflow.com
๐ŸŒ
Microsoft Support
support.microsoft.com โ€บ en-us โ€บ office โ€บ format-numbers-as-dates-or-times-418bd3fe-0577-47c8-8caa-b4d30c528309
Format numbers as dates or times - Microsoft Support
To quickly enter the current date ... will update to the current date each time you reopen a worksheet or recalculate a formula, type =TODAY() in an empty cell, and then press ENTER....
๐ŸŒ
Alteryx
alteryx.com โ€บ home โ€บ how to change date format in excel
How to Change Date Format in Excel | Alteryx
August 12, 2025 - Change the date system if negative numbers appear as dates. Sometimes Excel will format any negative numbers as a date because of the hyphens. To fix this, select the cells, open the options menu, and select โ€œAdvanced.โ€ On that menu, select โ€œUse 1904 date system.โ€ ยท Use functions to work with todayโ€™s date. If you want a cell to always display the current date, use the formula =TODAY() and press ENTER.
๐ŸŒ
Ablebits
ablebits.com โ€บ ablebits blog โ€บ excel โ€บ date โ€บ how to change excel date format and create custom formatting
How to change date format in Excel and create custom ...
October 10, 2023 - Read more details here: How to convert number to text in Excel - 4 quick ways. ... Through cell custom formatting, how to add (A) to a date to indicate that this date is actual like 05-Jan-24 (A) with out impacting the cell if it's needed in another formula. ... Hi! You can use a custom date format that will not affect the value in the cell. You can find the examples and detailed instructions here: How to change Excel date format and create custom formatting.
๐ŸŒ
Microsoft Support
support.microsoft.com โ€บ en-us โ€บ office โ€บ convert-dates-stored-as-text-to-dates-8df7663e-98e6-4295-96e4-32a67ec0a680
Convert dates stored as text to dates - Microsoft Support
Then copy the formula, select the cells that contain the text dates, and use Paste Special to apply a date format to them. ... Select a blank cell and verify that its number format is General. ... Select the cell that contains the text-formatted date that you want to convert. ... Press ENTER, and the DATEVALUE function returns the serial number of the date that is represented by the text date. ... Excel stores dates as sequential serial numbers so that they can be used in calculations.
Top answer
1 of 5
8

OPTION 1)

Assuming that you source date that is in the number format dd.mm.yyyy stored as an excel date serial and only formatted to display as dd.mm.yyyy then the best fix is to select the cells you want to modify. Go to your home tab, and select the number format and change it to General. See Green circles in image below. IF the format is already set to general, or when you switch it to general your numbers do not change, then it is most likely that your date in dd.mm.yyyy format is actually text. and will needed to be converted as per OPTION 2 below. However, if the number does change when you set it to general, select the arrow in the bottom right corner of the number area (see red circle).

After clicking the arrow in the red circle you should see a screen similar to the one below:

Select Custom from the category list on the left, and then in the Type bar enter the format you want which is yyyy/mm/dd.

OPTION 2

=date(Right(A1,4),mid(A1,4,2),left(A1,2))

This assumes your original date is a string stored in A1, and converts the string to a date serial in the form excel stores dates in.1 You can copy this formula down beside you dates. You can then apply cell formatting for the date as described above, or use the build short or long date if that style matches your needs.

1Excel counts the number of days since January 0 1900 for the windows version of excel. I believe mac is 1904 or 1905.

2 of 5
6

The problem is that your date is a text string, so changing the cell number format won't have any effect.

One method of convert the dates in place to "real" dates is to use the Text to Columns wizard.

  • Select your date(s).

  • Select the Text to Columns option on the Data Tools Tab of the Data Ribbon:

  • At Step 1, select "Fixed Width" then "Next"

  • Step 2 is irrelevant

  • At Step 3, for the date column, select DMY as the format. You can also select the "Destination" if you want the results written elsewhere.

  • Then "Finish".

That's it. Your dates will be converted in place

Since your dates are now "real" Excel dates, you can use the Cell โ–บ Number Format dialog to change the format to whatever you want.

Find elsewhere
๐ŸŒ
Trump Excel
trumpexcel.com โ€บ home โ€บ how to change date format in excel?
How to Change Date Format In Excel? (5 Simple Ways)
November 16, 2025 - Enter this formula in cell B2 and copy this for the entire column to get the numerical values for all the dates in column A. Once you have the numerical values, you can then format it as a regular date. Note: DATEVALUE would only work with dates that are in a format that Excel recognizes as date.
๐ŸŒ
MrExcel
mrexcel.com โ€บ forums โ€บ question forums โ€บ excel questions
Returning a date format in a formula as date format (currently showing as text) | MrExcel Message Board
February 20, 2021 - You need to use the TEXT function in the formula to preserve the date in the correct format. ... Glad we could help & thanks for the feedback. ... Click to expand... You can't, so I'd suggest Jason's post as he was the first. ... You can't, so I'd suggest Jason's post as he was the first. Click to expand...
๐ŸŒ
Reddit
reddit.com โ€บ r/excel โ€บ how do you convert date format to another?
r/excel on Reddit: How do you convert date format to another?
December 16, 2021 -

I have thousands of dates in a sheet that is formatted yyyymmdd Example: 20220827 for August 27, 2022.

Iโ€™d like to convert it from yyyymmdd to m/d/yyyy (or mm/dd/yyyy) with the slashes. How do I re-format this for all cells?

๐ŸŒ
ExcelDemy
exceldemy.com โ€บ home โ€บ excel formulas โ€บ how to change date format in excel using formula
How to Change Date Format in Excel Using Formula - ExcelDemy
June 23, 2024 - Read More: How to Convert Date to Julian Date in Excel ยท To change any date separator or change the date format, we can use the Ampersand (&) operator as an alternative to the CONCATENATE function.
๐ŸŒ
Microsoft Support
support.microsoft.com โ€บ en-us โ€บ office โ€บ date-function-e36c0c8c-4104-49da-ab83-82328b832349
DATE function - Microsoft Support
Note: Excel stores dates as sequential serial numbers so that they can be used in calculations. January 1, 1900 is serial number 1, and January 1, 2008 is serial number 39448 because it is 39,447 days after January 1, 1900. You will need to change the number format (Format Cells) in order to ...
๐ŸŒ
How To Excel
howtoexcel.org โ€บ change-date-format
9 Ways to Change Date Format in Microsoft Excel | How To Excel
Also in this formula, enter the date format you want by replacing this code "dddd mm-yyyy\". If youโ€™re using AutoFill, change the cell ranges C2:C6 according to your worksheet. So these are some of the common ways to change the date format in Excel.
Top answer
1 of 5
3

Formula in B2 is

=DATEVALUE(TEXTJOIN("-",TRUE,CHOOSECOLS(TEXTSPLIT(A1,"/"),3,1,2)))

Working from the inside out:

TEXTSPLIT to split the string into month, day, year

CHOOSECOLS to reorder the strings into year, month, day

TEXTJOIN to join those strings with a - that will be recognized by the DATEVALUE formula

DATEVALUE to turn the strings into a date, and it won't matter whether they are single or double digits for month and date.

2 of 5
2
=DATE(
    INDEX(FILTERXML("<t><s>" & SUBSTITUTE(A1, "/", "</s><s>") & "</s></t>", "//s"), 3),
    INDEX(FILTERXML("<t><s>" & SUBSTITUTE(A1, "/", "</s><s>") & "</s></t>", "//s"), 1),
    INDEX(FILTERXML("<t><s>" & SUBSTITUTE(A1, "/", "</s><s>") & "</s></t>", "//s"), 2)
)

Will convert text strings in an MDY type format with a / separator into a proper date. You can then format it as you wish.

If you might have other delimiters, nest SUBSTITUTE functions to take cared of that.

For example, if you might have either a / or a ., you would modify the formula to:

=DATE(
    INDEX(
        FILTERXML(
            "<t><s>" & SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A1, ".", "/"), "/", "</s><s>") & "</s></t>",
            "//s"
        ),
        3
    ),
    INDEX(
        FILTERXML(
            "<t><s>" & SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A1, ".", "/"), "/", "</s><s>") & "</s></t>",
            "//s"
        ),
        1
    ),
    INDEX(
        FILTERXML(
            "<t><s>" & SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A1, ".", "/"), "/", "</s><s>") & "</s></t>",
            "//s"
        ),
        2
    )
)

Algorithm:

  • Create an XML from the date, replacing the delimiter with the node identifier
  • Since we know there will only be three segments, and they are in the order MDY, we can feed those results into the DATE function to create our "real date"
  • You can then format the date however you wish

๐ŸŒ
JustAnswer
justanswer.com โ€บ computer โ€บ u1htu-excel-change-text-date-to-number-format.html
Change Date Format in Excel: Expert Guide & Solutions
December 18, 2025 - To change a date format in Excel, select the cells with dates, right-click, and choose 'Format Cells.' Under the 'Number' tab, select 'Date' and pick your preferred format. For custom formats, use the 'Custom' category and enter format codes ...
๐ŸŒ
SimpleSheets
simplesheets.co โ€บ blog โ€บ the-ultimate-guide-how-to-change-date-format-in-excel
How To Change Date Format In Excel - Excel Tips and Tricks
Return to Excel and select the cells to paste the dates. In the Home tab, go to Number and choose the Text format from the drop-down menu. ... We hate SPAM. We will never sell your information, for any reason. Join our Excel University and get Access to 100+ Templates ... CATEGORIES All Categories array functions benefit of excel templates cell format cells changing currency conditional formatting data analysis data management data visualization errors excel excel formulas ...
Top answer
1 of 3
4

In the Formula Bar, a date will show according to your computer's setting for the "Short date".

In Control Panel > Clock, Language and Region > Region and Language you can set these defaults for your computer.

The Excel "short date" format will always be displayed in the formula bar. In the screenshot below, you can see my regional settings. The Excel cell has today's date, formatted as a "Long Date". The formula bar shows the "Short date", which is determined by the computer's regional settings.

So, no, you cannot change the way the date shows in the formula bar, unless you are prepared to change your computer settings for "short date". This will then apply to all applications that use that date format, which may be way more than just Excel.

2 of 3
1

There is no way to change the date format in the formula bar. Excel actually stores dates as serial number, so your example of September 26, 2013 is actually stored in Excel as 41543. You can use the format cell settings to change the in-cell output to whatever format you need, but there is no explicit "formula bar" format. It is just there as a way to show you the data contained in the cell.

The only way to change the view in the formula bar would be to convert the date to text using the TEXT() function, but then you would no longer be able to interact with the date as a number.

A full explanation of the way dates and times work in Excel is available on Excel Tactics: The Definitive Guide to Using Dates and Times in Excel

๐ŸŒ
Wall Street Mojo
wallstreetmojo.com โ€บ home โ€บ all blogs โ€บ excel resources โ€บ date format in excel
Date Format in Excel - How to Change & Custom Format?
April 23, 2025 - The steps to convert text values to dates having the given format are listed as follows: Step 1: First, enter the following formula in cell B1. ... Then, press the "Enter" key. Note 1: The VALUE function returns the numeric form of a text string that represents a number. In other words, it converts a number looking like the text into an actual number. Note 2: Instead of the VALUE function, one can also use the DATEVALUE function of Excel.
๐ŸŒ
GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org โ€บ excel โ€บ how-to-change-date-format-in-excel
How to Change Date Format in Excel - GeeksforGeeks
May 14, 2024 - Enter the CTRL+SHIFT+# or CTRL+SHIFT+@ formula in the cell. ... Click on the cell that consists of Time or enter the Time in a blank cell. ... In the Home tab, click the Number group.