Converting an Unsupported Date Format

It is not uncommon to load information from other programs into Excel. For instance, you may have data generated by another program, and you want to analyze that data in Excel. When you import data into Excel, it does a fairly good job of assigning the proper data types to information, and it can even parse and convert some data.

When it comes to dates and times, however, not all programs speak in a way that Excel can understand. For instance, if your other program stores dates in the format "Mon Jan 10 14:33:03 2011", then Excel won't be able to parse the date and you will need to do the conversion in some other manner.

Fortunately, most programs generate their dates and times in a format that follows a pattern. Assuming, for instance, that "Mon Jan 10 14:33:03 2001" represents the format followed by all dates, you can do the conversion using a simple formula:

=DATEVALUE(MID(A1,9,2)&MID(A1,5,3)&RIGHT(A1,4)) + TIMEVALUE(MID(A1,12,8))

This formula assumes that the foreign date/time format is in cell A1. Simply format the result of the formula using one of Excel's date/time formats, and you'll have no problem.

If you prefer, you can use the Text to Columns function to break the foreign date/time format into its integral parts:

1. Make sure there are four empty columns to the right of the date/time. This is where Excel will place the various parts of the date/time.
2. Choose all of the cells containing the foreign dates/times.
3. Choose Text to Columns from the Data menu. Excel starts the Convert Text to Columns Wizard. (See Figure 1.)



Figure 1. The Convert Text to Columns Wizard.

4. Make sure that Delimited is selected, then click Next. Excel displays the second step of the wizard.
5. Make sure the Space check box is selected.
6. Click Finish.

The dates and times are now separated into five individual columns. You can now use a formula to put a valid date/time back together. For instance, assuming that the exploded version of the date/time is in cells A1:E1, you could use the following:

=(C1&B1&E1)+D2

Again, format the result using a date/time format, and you are all set.

If you prefer to use a macro to do the conversion, then the following macro will step through all the selected cells and do the conversion:

Sub ConvDate()
    Dim c As Range
    
    For Each c In Selection.Cells
        c = DateValue(Mid(c, 5, 6) & ", " _
          & Mid(c, 21, 4)) + TimeValue(Mid(c, 12, 8))
        c.NumberFormat = "dd MMMM yyyy h:mm:ss"
    Next c
End Sub

The macro converts the text string to an acceptable date/time (using DateValue) and then formats the cell to display the value property.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3014) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Converting an Unsupported Date Format.