Today’s Date in Excel: Quick Methods and Formulas

Struggling to enter today’s date in Excel? The large number of formatting options can make it tricky. Luckily, there are two quick and easy methods to insert the current date, static or dynamic!

Important! Before continuing, make sure you know how to use Format Cell in Excel. If not, please visit the Format Cell sub-chapter.

Before continue learning this guide, please download the following Excel file:

Keyboard Shortcut CTRL + ; to Input Today’s Date in Excel (Static)

You use the keyboard shortcut (CTRL + ;) to add the current date based on the computer’s internal system. This date is static, so it will not change automatically.

Note: Ctrl + ; meaning press the Control ( Ctrl ) and Semi-colon ( ; ) keys on the keyboard simultaneously.

Look at the following image:

See, there is no formula in the formula bar.

The result of the shortcut CTRL + ; will not change when you reopen this Workbook at another date.

I believe this keyboard shortcut can be a quick solution when you want to add a static date for the current day without worrying about the value changing.

However, if you want dynamic dates, consider the following TODAY Function:

Current Date Formula with Function TODAY in Excel (Dynamic)

You can also use the TODAY function to insert today’s date dynamically.

This means that the TODAY formula will return results in the form of today’s date based on the internal date system on the computer used and will be updated automatically when you open the file on a different date.

So when you use the TODAY function on April 28, 2024, Excel will return the same date results.

Note: The TODAY formula includes independent syntax. This means that this formula does not have any arguments. So there are no special writing rules that I need to explain.

TODAY Formula Syntax in Excel:
=TODAY()

The steps to use the TODAY Formula are also easy. Just type =TODAY() and see the results:

How to insert today’s date using the TODAY function is to type =TODAY() and then press Enter. See the results:

Note: When I use this formula, my computer system shows April 28, 2024, so Excel returns the same date as the system.

Now, I save this Workbook. Then I’ll open it again on April 29, 2024. See the following changes in the TODAY Formula results:

This is what is called dynamic Today’s Date. So the TODAY Formula results will always change according to the current computer system date.

The TODAY formula is also often used to retrieve dates within the next/previous days. For example like this:

TODAY Function Formula For Next/Previous Date:
B5 =TODAY()-2
B7 =TODAY()+5

The results of this formula will also change when you reopen this Excel file at a later date.

FYI, Excel recognizes dates as positive whole numbers where the number 0 starts on January 0, 1900. Meanwhile, January 1, 1900 is the number 1.

In this example, today’s date is April 28, 2024 = 45410. This means that July 7 2021 is 45,410 days after January 0 2021.

So, subtracting the date by 2 will subtract 2 days.

In conclusion, you have two options for inserting today’s date in Excel. Use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + ; for a static date that won’t change. If you need the date to update automatically, use the TODAY function. Choose the method that best suits your needs!

Next, please increase your skills by learning the next sub-chapter through the following guide shortcuts. Or visit the Excel guide center on M Jurnal to master Excel.