5 Custom Date Format(s) I Always Use and You Should Too

- Written by Puneet

Sometimes we need to use a custom date format which is not as per standard date formats. As you know we are blessed with custom formatting so you can create a custom date with a regular date serial number.

The benefit of a custom format is you don’t need to change the actual date serial number, which means you can those dates further in calculations.

So today, I’d like to share with you some of my favorite custom date formats which can help you present dates in a unique way.

How to use these Custom Date Formats

For all the formats which I have mentioned above, you need to follow the below steps.

  1. Select the cell where you want to apply the format.
  2. Now, press right-click and select “Format Cell”. Or you can also use a keyboard shortcut Ctrl + 1 to open format cell options.
  3. After that select custom and enter the format in the input bar and click OK.
add custom format to format cell option

Day Name

This one is my favorite. If you are working on some dates where you want to get the day name only, this custom date format can help you.

"It's" dddd
day name custom date format in excel

And, if you want to get the day name in short form, you can use the below format.

"It's" ddd

Day Number

Just like the day name if you want to get the day number you can use this custom format.

"Day" d
a day number with custom date format

Month Name

This custom date format will help you to get the month name for your date value. And, you can also add some custom text as per your requirement.

"Current Month is:" mmmm
a full month name with custom format

Date with a Day Name

This format gives helps you with a date with a day name at the end.

dd-mmm-yyyy (ddd)
a simple date with day name with custom format

Long Textual Date

And, if you want long textual data you can do this by using the below format.

"Today is Day" d", Month" m "& Year" yyyy.
a long textual date with custom format

Now tell me one thing. Do you have any format which you use? Share with me in the comment section.

8 thoughts on “5 Custom Date Format(s) I Always Use and You Should Too”

  1. How could we add a letter at the end ie.: 02/17/2018-S

    Reply
  2. Consider explicit, int’l date formats
    21/009/2017 dd/”0″MM/yyyy
    009.21.2017 “0”MM.dd.yyyy
    2017-009-21 yyyy-“0″mm-dd

    Info @ https://goo.gl/cbKPje
    #1World1Date1Day
    #CoCoCoCo

    Reply
  3. Hey Puneet,
    exactly where are you writing this custom format?

    Reply
    • In MS Excel where you select your Number Formats, there is a CUSTOM option at the end of the list which also includes Currency, Date, General and more. Select CUSTOM, then in the TYPE field, use the options above, such as dd/”0″MM/yyyy for 21/009/2017. Hope this helps.
      #yyyy0MMdd Info @ https://goo.gl/cbKPje #1World1Date1Day

      Reply
      • I’m liking this idea and will start using it. There will be push back but it will eventually catch on.

        Reply
        • Pushback?! Indeed. So please use it where you can, chat it up, Spread the word!
          #1World1Date1Day
          #1Monde1Date1Jour

          Reply

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