In this tutorial, you will learn how to add dates in Google Sheets.
How To Add Dates In Google Sheets
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There are many reasons to want to add dates to cells in Google Sheets.
For example, you might want to add the current date to an invoice or estimate you’re preparing for a customer, or insert a timestamp for newly entered data.
Whatever your reasons for adding dates, Google Sheets offers a number of useful features to help make the process quick and easy
TODAY Formula Method
If you need to add the current date in Google Sheets in such a way that it will always update to the current date, you can use the TODAY formula
Step 1
Select the cell you want to add the current date to
Step 2
Type the following formula into the cell: “=TODAY()” and hit enter to finish the formula
Step 3
The current date will appear in the cell. If you haven’t applied any special number formatting to the cell, it will appear in the default date format for your region
Step 4
Whenever the formula recalculates, the date will update to the current dates.
Google Sheets formulas generally recalculate when you open or reload the file, so refresh the page in your browser if your date is ever incorrect
Keyboard Shortcut Method
If you want to insert a date that will never change automatically, there’s a quick way to do that as well:
Step 1
Select the cell you want to insert the date into
Step 2
Hit Ctrl + ; (that’s a semicolon) on Windows or Command + ; on Mac
Step 3
The current date will be inserted into the selected cell and the cell’s number format will be converted to the default date format for your region
Step 4
Note that unlike dates inserted using the TODAY() formula, dates inserted in this way are not formulas and will never change automatically. This method is essentially just a shortcut for typing the date manually
Summary
Example Spreadsheet: Make a copy of the example spreadsheet
In this tutorial, I covered how to add dates in Google Sheets. Want more? Check out all the Google Sheets Tutorials.