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Setting different YEAR in Numbers DATE cell Formatting

I am doing accounting for past years in NUMBERS, when you select a CELL FORMAT as DATE, Numbers automatically assigns you the current year if you only enter Month and Day. How can I choose a different year to be automatically added?

Example:. if i enter "1/1" in a date cell, Numbers automatically assumes it is 1/1/2020, However, what if i want it to assume it is 2019? The only way to change that is to change the date on my computer settings, which then screws up all my other apps. is there another way? Also, how can i change the year for a bunch of selected data cells without having to type it one by one?

Thank you in advance for helping me

iMac 27″, macOS 10.14

Posted on Jul 10, 2020 9:42 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 10, 2020 3:11 PM

Hi petrusse,


Automatic year setting is a convenience feature that includes the year when you enter only the month and day. There is no user setting to specify the year except to enter the year with the month and day.


That said, it is easy, given a date in the current year to calculate the same date in a previous year using the EDATE function.


EDATE(start date,n) returns the date n months after start date.

If n is negative, the date returned is n months before the start date.


Formula shown is entered in A2, and filled down the rest of that column. The IF statement places the text message in its cell if there is no entry made in that row of column B. When an entry is made in column B, EDATE calculates the date 12 months earlier and places the result in the cell containing the formula.


At the end of a session, select the cells containing dates in column A, Copy, then go to th Edit menu and choose Paste Formula Results to replace the formula with the calculated dates.


Column B can be hidden when not in use.


Regards,

Barry

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6 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jul 10, 2020 3:11 PM in response to petrusse225

Hi petrusse,


Automatic year setting is a convenience feature that includes the year when you enter only the month and day. There is no user setting to specify the year except to enter the year with the month and day.


That said, it is easy, given a date in the current year to calculate the same date in a previous year using the EDATE function.


EDATE(start date,n) returns the date n months after start date.

If n is negative, the date returned is n months before the start date.


Formula shown is entered in A2, and filled down the rest of that column. The IF statement places the text message in its cell if there is no entry made in that row of column B. When an entry is made in column B, EDATE calculates the date 12 months earlier and places the result in the cell containing the formula.


At the end of a session, select the cells containing dates in column A, Copy, then go to th Edit menu and choose Paste Formula Results to replace the formula with the calculated dates.


Column B can be hidden when not in use.


Regards,

Barry

Jul 11, 2020 4:41 AM in response to petrusse225

Hi petrusse,


You can use the DATE function.


Formula in C2 =IF(OR(A2="",B2=""),"",DATE(Year::$A$1,A2,B2)) and fill down.

The IF(OR(A2="",B2=""),"" part tests for blank cells in columns A and B and inserts "" (NULL) if either is blank.

Else (they are not both blank), insert the DATE (year, month, day).



Beware of Leap Years with this method!


Regards,

Ian.

Jul 21, 2020 4:40 PM in response to petrusse225

"…And when i am finished i can just copy the entire date column and re-past match style and delete column B"


Close, but if you Paste and Match Style, then delete column B, all the entries in Column A will show error triangles.


The Paste command you want is Paste Formula Results, which pastes the results (dates) but not the formula that produced those results. You can set the format on column A before or after doing Copy > Paste Formula Results.


Regards,

Barry

Setting different YEAR in Numbers DATE cell Formatting

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