Automatic entry for today's date?

Hi G'

There are several methods, including one that adds a few steps to using the TODAY function that change it from a formula derived date to a fixed value date.

The post linked by Ijustwanttolookattheforums was written in 2011, and uses vocabulary that was correct for Numbers '09. Here's an updated version.

You can enter the Date using the Insert > Date and Time menu item, or by pressing command-;

• Click on the cell to select it.
• Click a second time to place the insertion point in the cell.
• Go Insert > Date & Time (or press command-;)
  • If you want to change the format of the displayed date, or to have the current time included in the entry, click the cell again to open the set date dialogue and choose the format you want from the popup menu. The last choice on the list includes the time of day.

OR:

Enter the formula =TODAY() in all cells (after the last date you've entered) in the Date column. As each day arrives, select the cell(s) for that day, Copy, then Edit > Paste Formula Results.

(Note that TODAY recalculates whenever there has been a change in the table. If it does not show today's date, you may have to make an entry in a data column to force the reset before doing the Copy>Paste Formula Results steps above.

OR

If you're using a single row for each day's entries (ie. morning and afternoon levels recorded in separate columns):

Enter the starting date into a Header row. (example uses cell B1)

Enter the formula =B1+1 into B2 (row 2 is the first non-header row)

Fill the formula down to the rest of the cells in column B.

To add dates, drag the Row handle down to add rows. The formula will automatically fill into the new rows (IF every regular cell in the column contains the formula).

In any of these you can format the cells to show the date in a format that includes the weekday name.

Regards,

Barry

Note: This is a revision of an earlier post by me (November 2011) to update the vocabulary and actions to fit current versions of Numbers.

B.

Have you tried typing =TODAY into the required this will automatically add today's date for you. I like it because the predictive text normally does it automatically after typing in =T so you don't have to type much at all.

There are some other way's as suggested by Barry in the following article here, but the one I've mentioned is the one I use.

Auto date for numbers - Apple Community

Hi G'

The method suggested by Ijustwanttolookattheforums enters the TODAY function into the cell. If left there, TODAY will update to the current date whenever you make a change in the table or when you open the document on another day.

To change that to a fixed date entry, you can do this:

• Select the cell where you want the date.
• type = to open the formula editor.
• type as much of "today" as needed to get Numbers to suggest TODAY, then click "TODAY"
• Click the green checkmark to confirm the formula had close the editor.
• With the date now visible in the cell (and the cell still selected),
  • Press command-C to copy the date (and the formula).
  • Go to the Edit menu and choose Paste Formula Results to replace the formula with its last calculated result.

Workable, and for some, it's the preferred method.

I think yours is more efficient, though. Good choice.

Regards,

Barry