A Step-by-Step Guide to Changing Date Formats in Google Sheets

As a frequent Google Sheets user, you’ve probably noticed that dates don’t always display in the ideal format for your needs. Thankfully, Google Sheets provides the flexibility to customize how dates appear in your spreadsheets.

In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk through the process of changing date formats in Google Sheets using simple steps anyone can follow. We’ll look at ways to modify the default date format as well as convert dates on a case-by-case basis.

Whether you want to display dates in a certain style, change the order of date components, or distinguish dates from text, this tutorial has you covered. Follow along to become a pro at controlling date formats in Google Sheets!

Overview of Date Formatting in Google Sheets

Google Sheets has default settings that determine how dates appear:

• Default date format: M/D/YYYY

• Default time format H MM AM/PM

• Dates auto-format: Numbers that look like dates automatically convert

While this works fine in many cases, you’ll likely find yourself needing to adjust how dates display at some point. Thankfully, Google Sheets provides all the tools to customize date formatting to your needs

Why Would You Want to Change the Date Format?

Here are some common scenarios where altering the date format in Google Sheets makes sense:

• Viewing dates in your preferred style: The default MDY order doesn’t work for everyone. You may want dates in DMY or YMD order instead.

• Fitting dates into cells: Default formats with long month and day names can be too wide for columns. More compact formats can prevent clipping.

• Highlighting date components: Emphasize the year, month, or day by putting the desired component first.

• Separating dates and text: Standard formats like M/D/YYYY render indistinguishable from text or numbers. Custom formats clearly indicate dates.

• Applying regional conventions: Use familiar date styles for territories like Europe or Asia.

• Coordinating data: Match date formats across imported datasets or other worksheets.

• Identifying timescales: Highlight time information in timestamps using specific time formats.

• Meeting organizational guidelines: Follow company date format preferences and standards.

No matter your specific reasons, Google Sheets empowers you to tailor date formats to your needs.

How to Change the Default Date Format in Google Sheets

The simplest way to control date formats in Google Sheets is to change the default date setting that applies workbook-wide. Here are the steps:

1. Open your Google Sheet and select File > Spreadsheet settings.

2. On the General tab, locate the Locale setting.

3. From the drop-down menu, choose a Locale with your desired default date format.

4. Click Save to apply the new default date format.

5. Any existing or new dates will now display using your chosen locale’s date style.

For example, setting the Locale to the United Kingdom changes the default date format to DD/MM/YYYY.

This approach provides an easy way to change the overarching date format. However, it isn’t very flexible. Next we’ll look at ways to convert dates on a case-by-case basis.

How to Change Date Formatting for Individual Cells

To convert dates to specific formats on a one-off basis, use these steps:

1. Select the cells containing dates to format.

2. On the toolbar, click Format > Number > More Formats > More Date and Time Formats.

3. Browse the full list of available date formats.

4. Choose the desired date format from the list or enter a custom format.

5. Click Apply to change the selected dates to the new format.

For example, to display a date in the style “2nd March 2022”, you would select “March 2, 2022” from the Type drop-down.

This approach provides precise control to tailor date formatting on a case-by-case basis.

Useful Date Formats for Different Uses

Google Sheets supports a vast number of predefined date formats along with options for fully custom formats. Here are some formats that are particularly useful:

• Short date: 3/2/22, 02/03/2022 (condensed fits in small cells)

• Long date: Wednesday, March 2, 2022 (spelled out format)

• DMY date: 2/3/2022 (day first for European dates)

• YMD date: 2022/3/2 (year first format for Asia)

• Month/Year: March 2022 (hide day for month or year overviews)

• Date/Time: 3/2/22 5:30 PM (add time for timestamps)

• ISO Date: 2022-03-02 (standardized format, useful for sorting)

• Text format: “March 2, 2022” (display date as text, not number)

Try out some of these handy formats or create your own custom versions.

Tips for Formatting Dates in Google Sheets

Follow these tips to become a power user at formatting dates in Google Sheets:

• Use the default Locale setting to efficiently change all dates sitewide.

• To modify individual cells, use the More Date and Time formats option.

• Scan all the predefined formats when you need a certain date style.

• Verify dates convert accurately when importing datasets from other sources.

• Adjust column widths to ensure formatted dates fit and display properly.

• Add distinguishing prefixes or suffixes like “Date:” if you need to differentiate text.

• Apply color formatting to dates for quick visual identification.

• Right align dates to keep columns neat when using different date lengths.

• Format dates consistently across worksheets and adjoining datasets.

With this array of date formatting options, you’ll be ready to wrangle dates into perfect shape for any project or purpose!

Using Custom Date Formatting Codes

For full formatting flexibility, Google Sheets supports creating custom date formats using special codes. Here’s a quick example:

To display a date in the style “22 March, 2022”, you would enter the custom format:

d mmm, yyyy

This breaks down as:

• d: day number
• mmm: 3 letter abbreviated month
• yyyy: 4 digit year

You can combine any of the following codes to construct a custom date format:

This gives you all the building blocks to create unique tailored date formats.

Common Google Sheets Date Issues and Fixes

Despite the powerful formatting options, you may run into some frustrations when working with dates in Google Sheets:

Issue: Dates not displaying in expected format.

Fix: Confirm locale is set to your preferred default format.

Issue: Formatted dates appearing as text, not recognized as dates.

Fix: Use Format > Number > Date instead of text formats.

Issue: Date formats changing when sharing or exporting sheets.

Fix: Use File > Spreadsheet Settings to set Locale before sharing.

Issue: Wrong dates when importing data from other sources.

Fix: Prior to import, format columns for correct date type.

Issue: Date formats not matching adjoining data or other sheets.

Fix: Use consistent formats across all related data.

Get in the habit of double-checking date formats and locales to avoid issues when collaborating on or distributing your Google Sheets.

Best Practices for Working with Dates

To avoid frustrations, adopt these best practices when dealing with dates:

• Set your preferred locale upfront before entering data.

• Use the “Text” date format if you want dates treated as text strings.

• Verify imported dates are clean before relying on them in calculations.

• Standardize formats across columns, sheets, and source data for consistency.

• Adjust column widths to fit your chosen date formats legibly.

• Clarify ambiguous numbers using prefix/suffix labels like “Date:” or “Week of:”.

• Condition formats to highlight invalid or erroneous dates.

By carefully applying appropriate date formats from the start, you’ll maximize clarity and minimize surprises down the road!

Advanced Date Handling with Google Sheets Add-ons

The built-in Google Sheets date formatting options covered in this guide should handle most scenarios. However, for advanced power users, third-party add-ons can exten