How to Change the Default Date Format in Google Sheets – Guide

If you need to work with a different date format in Google Sheets, you can easily change your spreadsheet’s default format to match the default in each location. Imagine you are working with a blade from a UK customer. The UK uses the MM/DD/YYYY format, which means the day value comes first, followed by the month and year. However, if you are from North America, you are probably using a different format, e.g. “MM/DD/YYYY”. You want your spreadsheet to conform to this format so that the data makes sense to you. In Google Spreadsheet, select the cell(s) you want to change and click the “123” button button in the top menu bar. A drop-down menu will appear where you can select some options to change various formats including the date. You can click on the date button to change the date to the default or select More formats and then More date and time formats. Under “More date and time formats”, you can customize how dates should be formatted in your spreadsheet. Users can use Google Drive to create documents, presentations and spreadsheets from data in Google Sheets. Similar to Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets allows users to create tables of data from their laptop or computer and easily customize the presentation of data in Google Sheets.

Using standard Google Sheet formats

You can use this method if you are happy with the formats provided by Google Sheets.

Highlight the cell you want to format

Tap on the cell you want to format. If you want to select multiple cells, click and drag the cursor across the range of cells. After highlighting them, you will see a blue border. You can also see the cell name or range of cells in the Name box.

Hover over the Number option

On the main menu bar, tap Format to see a drop-down menu. Hover over the Number option to see the different formatting options.

Choose the desired format

By hovering over the Number option, you can see the list of options you can choose from. To see the day and month in words along with the date and year, you can choose MM/DD/YYYY option.

Using custom date formats

If you are not satisfied with the default format options, you can customize your own using this method.

Highlight the cells you want to format

Select the range of cells you want to format. After selecting them, you can see the cells surrounded by a blue border. You can also see the cell range in the Name box.

Go to Custom Date & Time option

Tap Format on the main menu bar. Hover over the Number option. In the list of options, you can find the Customize date and time option at the bottom. Tap on it.

Customize the date format as you wish

Once you click on the Custom Date and Time option, you will see a dialog box. You can see several formatting options that you can choose from. You can choose one of the formats by clicking on it and then clicking on the Apply button button.

Final note

I hope you like the guide How to Change the Default Date Format in Google Sheets. In case if you have any query regards this article you may ask us. Also, please share your love by sharing this article with your friends.