Excel Format Date Will Not Change the Format on my Excel Document

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Excel Format Date Will Not Change the Format on my Excel Document

Wendy Crowell 20

The Format Date function is not working on my Excel document. Every time I change the format to Month/Date (ex. 12/11) the date defaults to the the MM/DD/YYYY format (ex. 12/11/2025). No matter what I do, I cannot override the default on this document. Excel troubleshoot is no help at all. It only tells you how to perform the function, and nothing about what to do if the function simply will not work.

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Answer 1

Hi Wendy, I get how confusing that can be when the format just won’t stick. What’s happening is Excel is still storing the full date behind the scenes, and the default formatting is likely being controlled by either the cell’s format settings or the workbook’s regional settings. Let’s check a couple of things: first, confirm the cells are truly set to “Custom” or “Date” with the format MM/DD and not reverting to “General.” Also, make sure you’re not dealing with text values. If the dates were imported or pasted, they might look like dates but actually be text. Try selecting a cell and using =ISNUMBER(cell) in another cell; if it returns FALSE, it’s text and needs converting. If it is a real date, does the issue happen in a new blank workbook too, or only in this file? That will tell us if it’s file-specific or a system setting. Can you check those and let me know what you find?

Answer 2

If the format change is not being applied in your Excel document, it could be due to the cell format settings or the way the dates are entered. Here are a few steps you can take to troubleshoot the issue:

Check Cell Format: Ensure that the cells containing the dates are set to the correct format. You can do this by selecting the cells, right-clicking, and choosing Format Cells. Make sure the format is set to Text if you want to prevent Excel from automatically converting the date to a different format.
Use Text to Columns: If the dates are already entered and formatted incorrectly, you can convert them to text format using the Text to Columns feature:
- Select the column with the dates.
- Go to the Data tab on the ribbon.
- Click on Text to Columns.
- Choose Delimited and click Next.
- In the delimiters section, select Tab and click Next.
- In the Column data format section, select Text and click Finish.
Regional Settings: Sometimes, the date format may be influenced by your system's regional settings. Check your Control Panel settings to ensure they match the desired date format.
Re-enter Dates: If the above steps do not work, try re-entering the dates in the desired format after changing the cell format to Text.

By following these steps, you should be able to resolve the issue with the date formatting in your Excel document.

References:

Answer 3

Wendy Crowell 20

I have already tried all of tips. It simply is not working and again, there is no way to override it. Changing the format to text does not work.

Answer 4

Hi Rez,

Thanks for your response. I had since found a workaround, so everything is actually text now. However, I did try it in the new blank file and it displays correctly.

I entered a date using the MM/DD format, which was automatically converted to DD-MMM format. Then, I selected Format Cell/Date and selected the MM/DD format, and the cell shows the date in the MM/DD format. However, if you click on the cell, the date format that is shown in the formula bar is MM/DD/YYYY.

The other file would not display the date in the desired format when I applied the above steps. So I believe it is a file specific issue.

I will accept your answer. Thanks again!

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Excel Format Date Will Not Change the Format on my Excel Document

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