XL: General Number Format Applied to Improper Time Entry

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
• Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0, 5.0a, 5.0c

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel, when you enter a time into a cell, the cell may change to the General number format, and display a decimal number.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs when you enter an improper time value, where the minutes are greater than or equal to 60. For example if you type "5:62" (without the quotation marks), the cell displays "0.251389"

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, change the cell to the Time number format. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click to select the cell.

2. On the Format menu, click Cells.

3. On the Number tab, click Time in the Category list, and then click the time format you want in the Type list. Click OK.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

REFERENCES

For more information about formatting, click the Index tab in Microsoft Excel Help, type the following text

   number formats, in cells