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DATEVALUE
DATEVALUE parses a text string that represents a date and returns the corresponding numeric date serial number. Use it when dates have been imported as text (e.g., from CSV files or copy-paste operations) and you need to perform arithmetic, sorting, or filtering on them as real dates.
Excel
=DATEVALUE(A2)Google Sheets
=DATEVALUE(A2)Try it with your data
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How it works
- 1Pass the cell containing the text-formatted date to DATEVALUE (e.g., =DATEVALUE(A2)).
- 2Format the result cell as a Date to display it as a readable date rather than a serial number.
- 3Once converted, use the result in date arithmetic: =TODAY()-DATEVALUE(A2) calculates days elapsed.
Need a version for your data?
Try: “Convert text dates imported from a CSV file into real dates I can sort and calculate with”