XL: Changing an Integer to an Excel Serial Number

• Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0, 5.0c
• Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 5.0, 5.0a
• Microsoft Excel for Windows NT, version 5.0
• Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SUMMARY

Many programs export dates as integers. This article contains a sample Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications macro (Sub procedure) that transforms an integer date to a Microsoft Excel serial number. This example assumes that the integer date is in the active cell of the worksheet in the form of 980812 (that is, year|month|day).

The macro can be adapted for other integer date formats by changing the references in the DATE function.

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft support engineers can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more information about the support options available from Microsoft, please see the following page on the World Wide Web:

   http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/refguide/default.asp

To run the macro, follow these steps:

1. Type the following code into a module sheet:

         Sub ConvertInteger()
   
             ' Extract the first two digits.
             yr = Fix(ActiveCell * 0.0001)
   
             ' Extract the second two digits.
             mo = Right(Fix((ActiveCell - (yr * 10000)) * 0.01), 2)
   
             ' Extract the last two digits.
             dy = ActiveCell - (Fix(ActiveCell * 0.01) * 100)
   
             ' Return the result to the original cell in Microsoft Excel date
             ' format.
             ActiveCell.Value = DateSerial(yr, mo, dy)
   
         End Sub
   
   

2. Click a cell in a worksheet that has a date that needs to be converted, and click Macro on the Tools menu. (In Microsoft Excel 97 and Microsoft Excel 98, click the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Macros.)

3. Select the name "ConvertInteger," and click Run.