Excel: date prior to 1900

Solved
gerard27 Posted messages 63 Status Member -  
 Chy -
Good evening,

To create a genealogy file, I need to enter dates prior to 1900. However, when I format the cell as a date, it does not recognize dates like "01/01/1761".
No sorting is possible, for example, sorting occurs on the day of the month, not the full date.
To my knowledge, Excel's calendar starts on 01/01/1900.
Question: Is there a way for me to enter dates prior to 1900?

Best regards

Gérard

9 answers

gbinforme Posted messages 14930 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   4 744
 
Hello

I’m going back to my first idea, which was probably the best.

It doesn’t look nice unless you use a trick.

I assume your dates are in column A and
so you’ll insert a column B that you will then hide
but that you will use for sorting.

If your dates are all entered in the format 01/01/1761
you insert in B1 the formula:

=IF(ISNUMBER(A1),NUM(VALUE(TEXT(A1,"yyyymmdd"))),NUM(MID(A1,7,4)&MID(A1,4,2)&MID(A1,1,2)))

If your dates are entered in the format 1/1/1761, the formula is:

=IF(ISNUMBER(A1),NUM(VALUE(TEXT(A1,"yyyymmdd"))),NUM(VALUE(TEXT(MID(A1,FIND("/",A1,FIND("/",A1,1)+1)+1,4),"0000")&TEXT(MID(A1,FIND("/",A1,1)+1,(FIND("/",A1,FIND("/",A1,1)+1)-FIND("/",A1,1))-1),"00")&TEXT(LEFT(A1,FIND("/",A1,1)-1),"00"),"00000000")))

Then just drag the formula down the entire column.
To do this, select the cell, then position the mouse over
the bottom right corner until you get a small cross and drag
down to the end of the column, and the copy will be made upon releasing.

I hope this will be helpful.

--
always calm
11
G.David Posted messages 790 Status Member 203
 
Hello
try your internet search using
extended date function
it is a function developed by John Walkenbach that allows the manipulation of dates from the year 100 to 9999, which enables in-depth research on ancestors and provides a long-lasting legacy for descendants. To be brief, this add-in can be found at this address
http://j-walk.com/ss/excel/files/xdate.htm
Best regards
G. David
--
Respect is not a given
it is earned
0
Chy
 
Impeccable, it works like a charm.
0
gbinforme Posted messages 14930 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   4 744
 
Hello

You are absolutely right, Excel isn't very fond of genealogy.

To sort dates the way you need,
I can only see one solution and it's the one that was used
before date formats were implemented.

For that, you need to format the dates as yyyy/mm/dd
and in text zone, 1761/01/01 can be sorted with 2005/01/01.

It's not pretty, but if you want to use Excel...

--
still zen
2
gbinforme Posted messages 14930 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   4 744
 
Hello

I need to seriously look into this!!

It's so vast that we only ever know a part
of Excel: it's the part we use!

If the formulas work for you, I'm glad to have helped

and indeed, onto the next topic.

--
always zen
1
gerard27 Posted messages 63 Status Member 5
 
Good evening,

I just tried your suggestion, it works, I can sort by date but as you said, it's not pretty and we're not used to reading dates like that.

Thank you, but I will stick with what I had started doing: one column shows only the day of the month and the month, and another notes the year. For sorting, I sort first by day and month, and second by year, so everything is in order.

I will keep my request active for a few more days to see if anyone has another solution.

Thanks again
best regards

Gérard
0
gbinforme Posted messages 14930 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   4 744
 
hello

I've found a solution for you and it's here:

http://www.excelabo.net/xl/dates.php#dates1900

hoping it will work for you...

--
always zen
0
gerard27 Posted messages 63 Status Member 5
 
Good evening, gbinforme

I went to the address indicated, I get to the "EXCLABO" page but I can't go any further. I will try again later.

Gérard
0
UsulArrakis Posted messages 7683 Status Contributor 3 196
 
you need to give the page time to load

there you go:
http://j-walk.com/ss/excel/files/xdatedl.php.
which installs as an add-in macro
--
(_Usul of Arrakis
Serial_Dreamer_)
0
gbinforme Posted messages 14930 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   4 744
 
hello

I'm sorry the site is unresponsive but I keep looking
and when you search, you find... so see you later

--
always calm
0
gerard27 Posted messages 63 Status Member 5
 
Hello gbinforme

As you saw, the page is inaccessible.

I just tried your formulas and they work wonderfully. It's exactly what I needed, thank you for your help. I often use Excel but I'm not familiar with the functions apart from "IF ...".

I really need to dive into this!

I'm going to consider the issue resolved.

Thank you again, until the next question or answer.

Best regards

Gérard
0