How to turn off the automatic date feature in Excel 2003

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
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Guest

If you enter a number that is formated like XXXX-XX-XX or
XX-XX-XX or XX-XX-XXXX ect. Excel automatically changes
the formating for the cell from "numbers, general"
to "numbers, date" you can reformat the cell but Excel
automatically loads a number that some how corresponds to
the date that it automatically entered. I would like to
turn OFF this feature. Excel 97 and 2000 do not do this.
 
There could be times when you want it so why not just format as text first
or use ' before entries
 
Excel automatically loads a number that some how corresponds to
the date that it automatically entered.
Click to expand...

It's the number of days since Jan 1, 1900.
I would like to
turn OFF this feature. Excel 97 and 2000 do not do this.
Click to expand...

My copy of Excel 2000 does this.
 
I am not sure when I would want this feature, but your
solutions do work. Thanks for the help.
 
There could be times when you want it . . .
Click to expand...

OK, but there could be times when I want automatic or manual recalculation, but
Excel doesn't foist one but not the other on me. It's a mystery why Excel makes
it impossible to disable automatic formatting . . . unless you accept my own
theory that there's more than a little sadism in Excel's design.
 
I suspect that the last line of your statement is true but I want to say it
very softly.
 
Hi Harlan!

Re: "unless you accept my own theory that there's more than a little
sadism in Excel's design"

My theory is that they have a Pythonesque humour which goes a bit
beyond sadism. How else do you explain the infliction of "Clippy" on
us and then (in first version) make it so difficult to get rid of it.

--
Regards
Norman Harker MVP (Excel)
Sydney, Australia
(e-mail address removed)
Excel and Word Function Lists (Classifications, Syntax and Arguments)
available free to good homes.
 
...
...
My theory is that they have a Pythonesque humour which goes a bit
beyond sadism. How else do you explain the infliction of "Clippy" on
us and then (in first version) make it so difficult to get rid of it.
Click to expand...
...

If there were a sense of humor behind it, you could be right.

It wasn't so difficult to get rid of - all it took was deleting the files that
provided the pesonas. I can't remember their extensions because it's been so
long since I purged 'em.
 
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