Forum Discussion
Excel overrules Windows regional setting for two digit year translation
It is documented that as a rule, Excel will translate two digit dates either to the 1900's or the 2000' based on the breaking point 2029. So '30 will become 1930.
With that year only 8 years in the future, it would seem that MS should reconsider this standard.
It is also documented that the Windows Regional setting might overrule this. However, this is not the case. At least not for me. My setting (Control Panel > Region > Additional settings > Date > When a two-digit year is entered, interpret it as a year between) is set to 1950 and 2049. However, from 1/1/30 onward, the year will be 1930.
Strangely I cannot find any reference to this issue. I have supplied feedback to MS, but sharing it here in case I overlooked something in advanced Excel's options. Excel for Microsoft 365 MSO (16.0.14326.20702) 32-bit
Default setting (1950-2049) in Windows 11 doesn't work from the box, we need first to "activate" it. Change on 1951-2050 or whatever you prefer. Apply. After that you may return back to 1950-2049 and apply again. It shall work now, 30 goes to 2030. Not necessary to restart Excel after the setting is applied.
If you want to type a date that is before January 1, 1930, or after December 31, 2029, you must type the full four-digit year. For example, to use the date July 4, 2076, type 7/4/2076.
Dates in the inclusive range from January 1, 1900 (1/1/1900) to December 31, 9999 (12/31/9999) are valid.
I don't know if this information will help you in any way, but I've included it as a notice. 🙂
I know I don't know anything (Socrates)
- Thank you but no, the information is not helpful. The issue was specified as Excel overruling the Windows setting, with the undesired result. Typing a 4-digit date is a work-around, not a solution.
The only thing I can suggest is to pre-convert the cells to text and use error checking to check for the century if necessary.
Or type an apostrophe (‘) before a number, example: '01.02.30.
The apostrophe does not appear in the cell after pressing Enter.
