When you work with dates in a spreadsheet, it’s important to use a date format. This tells the spreadsheet that you're referring to specific calendar dates, like July 15, 2014. Date formats also allow you to use date functions to perform calculations with time and dates.

Spreadsheets don't always understand information the way we do. For example, if you type "October" into a cell, the spreadsheet will treat it as text, not a date. To make sure the spreadsheet understands, you need to use a format it recognizes, like month/day/year (or day/month/year, depending on your location). So, typing 10/12/2014 will tell the spreadsheet that you're referring to October 12, 2014. It will then apply the date format to that cell.

Once your date is formatted correctly, you can do many things with it. For example, you can use the fill handle to continue the dates down the column, with each cell showing a different date.

If the spreadsheet doesn't automatically apply the date format, it means it didn’t recognize the data. For example, if you type "March 15th", the spreadsheet won’t know it's a date and will keep the general format. But if you type "March 15", the spreadsheet will recognize it as a date. It will add the current year automatically if no year is given. You can also type dates in different ways, like 3/15, 3/15/2014, or March 15 2014, and the spreadsheet will understand.

Try typing different ways of entering dates in your spreadsheet to see if the date format applies automatically. For example, try typing:

• 10/12
• October
• October 12
• October 2016
• 10/12/2016
• October 12, 2016
• 2016
• October 12th

If you want to quickly add the current date to a cell, use the shortcut Ctrl+; as shown in the video.

Other date formatting options

To find more date formatting options, click the Number Format drop-down menu. Then, choose "More Number Formats." This will give you different ways to display your date, like adding the day of the week or leaving out the year.

A dialog box called "Format Cells" will appear. In this box, you can select the date format you want.

Even if you change the date format, it doesn’t change the actual date in the cell. It just changes how the date is shown. You can see this in the formula bar, where the original date stays the same, but the display changes based on your selection.