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Let's say you want to easily enter the current date and time while making a time log of activities or display the current date and time automatically in a cell every time formulas are recalculated. There are several ways to insert the current date and time in a cell.

What do you want to do?

Insert a static date or time

Insert a date or time whose value is updated

Insert a static date or time

Current date   Select a cell and press CTRL+;

Current time   Select a cell and press CTRL+SHIFT+;

Current date and time   Select a cell and press CTRL+; then SPACE then CTRL+SHIFT+;

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Insert a date or time whose value is updated

To do this task, use the TODAY and NOW functions.

Example

The example may be easier to understand if you copy it to a blank worksheet.

 Note   The TODAY() and NOW() functions change only when the worksheet is calculated or when a macro that contains the function is run. They are not updated continuously. The date and time used are taken from the computer's system clock.

Function details

TODAY

NOW

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