Custom format for cell not working properly

Hi emmadgncs,

the problem is that the custom format mm.yy;;; is not unambiguous. It could be interpreted as either a date format or a number format, depending on the context. In your case, Excel is interpreting it as a number format.

To fix this, you need to add a [Date] prefix to the custom format. This tells Excel that the format should be interpreted as a date format. The updated custom format would be [Date]mm.yy;;;.

To apply the updated custom format, follow these steps:

1. Select cell C3.
2. On the Home tab, in the Number group, click the Format dropdown menu.
3. Select Custom.
4. In the Type box, enter the following custom format:

[Date]mm.yy;;;​

1. Click OK.

Now, when you enter the date 02.24 into cell C3, it will be formatted correctly as 02.24.

Here are some links you can use:

• Microsoft Support: Create a custom number format: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/create-and-apply-a-custom-number-format-6c308025-35da-4047-9481-c146a12063df
• Contextures: Excel dates won't change format: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/formatting-settings-disabled-in-excel-online/e6e6858f-5979-42bd-aa23-72a74f494496
• Chandoo: Custom date formats in Excel: https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/office/format-a-date-the-way-you-want-8e10019e-d5d8-47a1-ba95-db95123d273e