Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Finding the Previous Work Day.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 20, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Joe wonders how to return the date of the previous work day, taking into account any holidays. He needs to be able to get this information for any particular date.
Excel has a number of functions and formulas that help automate obtaining routine information. The Analysis ToolPak add-on contains formulas that can help with these automations. One is the WORKDAY function.
Assuming you have the Analysis ToolPak enabled (how you do so has been covered in other issues of ExcelTips), you can obtain the date information you need by using the following formula:
=WORKDAY(A1,-1,MyHolidays)
The first part of this formula, A1, refers to the cell where the reference date is located. This information can be obtained in a couple of different ways. You can manually enter the date into cell A1 or you could use a formula in that cell to signify the date. For instance, you could use the following simple formula in cell A1 so that it always contains today's date:
=TODAY()
The second part of the formula, -1, says to subtract one day from the date in A1. The third part of the formula, MyHolidays, refers to a named range containing a list of dates and holidays you want skipped in determining the previous workday.
The WORKDAY function returns the date of day previous to the date entered in A1, allowing for any holidays.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (8104) 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: Finding the Previous Work Day.
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here:
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