Free Practice WorkbookWhenever you download data from an external ERP system like Oracle, SAP, etc, you can have data that is not formatted the way you and Excel likes.
Sometimes “Date” values are downloaded as “Text”, so you cannot sort in the periodic date format.
No worries! Text to Columns to the rescue!
Below I show you how to convert this “Text” data into “Excel friendly” data. Download the workbook to practice this cool trick!
NB: If the dates are not converting properly after you do the Text to Columns, it may be that your computer’s Region formats need changing.
Go to the Region settings in your Control Panel and make sure that the Short Date is in this format: dd/MM/yyyy
Download workbookText-to-Columns-Dates.xlsx
HELPFUL RESOURCE:
John Michaloudis is a former accountant and finance analyst at General Electric, a Microsoft MVP since 2020, an Amazon #1 bestselling author of 4 Microsoft Excel books and teacher of Microsoft Excel & Office over at his flagship Academy Online Course.
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