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#Date and time

NOW

Excel Functions

Get the current date and time

Return Value

A number representing the current date and time in Excel.

Details

NOW takes no parameters but requires empty parentheses. The value returned by NOW will continually update each time the worksheet is updated, for example, each time a value is entered or changed. Use F9 to force the worksheet to recalculate and update the value. The value returned by the NOW function is a standard Excel date, including a fractional value for time. To display the result as a date, apply a date number format. Optionally, customize the number format to include the time. If you want the current date without a time value, use the TODAY function. The NOW function returns the current date and time according to the settings on your computer. As I write this, the date is June 22, 2024, and it's just after 10 AM in the morning. When I enter the formula below in cell A1, it returns t

Examples

The NOW function explained

The NOW function returns the current date and time according to the settings on your computer. As I write this, the date is June 22, 2024, and it's ju

EXCEL 
=NOW() // returns 45465.42441
The NOW function explained

The integer part of the number (45465) is the date (June 22, 2024), and the decimal part of the number (0.42441) is the time (about 10:11 AM). Note th

EXCEL 
=NOW() // returns 45465.42721
The NOW function explained

Notice the number has increased slightly. The date (45465) is the same (June 22, 2024), but the time (0.42721) is now about 10:15 AM. The NOW function

EXCEL 
"d-mmm-yyyy" // a date like "22-Jun-2024"
"h:mm" // a time like "10:15"
"m/d/yyyy h:mm" // a date and time like "6/22/2024 10:15"
Example - basic usage

The examples below show how the NOW function can be used in various ways:

EXCEL 
=NOW()  // current date and time
=NOW()-7  // last week same time
=NOW()+7  // next week same time
=NOW()+90  // 90 days from now
=MROUND(NOW()+90,"1:00")  // 90 days from now to nearest hour
=EDATE(NOW(),3)  // 3 months from now, time removed
=EDATE(NOW(),12)  // 12 months from now, time removed
=EOMONTH(NOW(),-1)+1  // first day of current month
=EDATE(NOW(),6)+MOD(NOW(),6)  // 6 months from now, time preserved
Current time without a date

The NOW function returns the current date and time. However, in some cases, you may want to return only the current time. You can do this by adding th

EXCEL 
=MOD(NOW(),1)
Hours and minutes before a specific time

Why would you want to remove the date? One example is the problem of displaying the hours and minutes that remain before a specific time of the day. F

EXCEL 
="18:00"-MOD(NOW(),1)

See Also

TODAY TEXT