I have data time data in excel in the format "04/18/2014 17:09:09". I would like to use MAX and MIN on a range of such dates to get max, min and time span between min-max. I tried using custom format "mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss" but thats hopeless - MAX always returns 01/00/1900 00:00:00. What to do the be able to to time base caclulations on time stamps like this?
1 Answer
If MAX() is returning 01/00/1900 00:00:00
it means that MAX() is really returning 0
This, in turn, means that your date/times are text rather than numerical values.
You need to convert then to "true" dates before they can be used in calculations.
EDIT#1
With data like yours in column A starting in A1 , in B1 enter:
=DATE(MID(A1,7,4),LEFT(A1,2),MID(A1,4,2))+TIME(MID(A1,12,2),MID(A1,15,2),RIGHT(A1,2))
and copy down
Then you can use you MAX and MIN against column B rather than A