XL: TEXT(MONTH(NOW()),"mmm") Always Returns "Jan"

ID: Q129073

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 2.x, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 5.0c
Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 2.x, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 5.0a
Microsoft Excel for the Power Macintosh, versions 5.0, 5.0a
Microsoft Excel for Windows NT, version 5.0
Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

When you nest the TEXT(), MONTH(), and NOW() functions as in the following example

   =TEXT(MONTH(NOW()),"mmm")

Microsoft Excel will always return the result "Jan".

CAUSE

When you format a number using a date format (such as "mmm"), Excel interprets the number as the serial representation of the date. The number returned by the MONTH() function is always between 1 and 12, representing the months of the year.

In the following example, the current date is assumed to be February 1, 1995.

On a spreadsheet, type the following formula into a cell:

   =TEXT(MONTH(NOW()),"mmm")

If the current date is February 1, 1995, the function MONTH(NOW()) correctly returns the value of 2. This is equivalent to MONTH(34731) because 2/1/95 is the 34731st day after 1/1/1900. TEXT(MONTH(NOW()),"mmm") evaluates to the same value as TEXT(2,"mmm"), because 2 is the serial representation of 1/2/1900. Thus, it returns "Jan".

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft support professionals can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more information about the support options available from Microsoft, please see the following page on the World Wide Web:

   http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/refguide/

To format a date as a month, do not use the MONTH() function in the formula as illustrated in the following examples.

To enter the formula directly on a worksheet, type the following formula into a cell:

   =TEXT(NOW(),"mmm")

The text string "Feb" is returned.

To use the formula in a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications procedure (this particular example illustrates how to display the current month as a text string in a message box), type the following Sub procedure in a module:

   Sub Date_Format()

      Test = Format(Date, "mmm")

      ' Returns the current month as a text string
      ' if the current date is 2/1/95, "Feb" (without the quotation marks).
      MsgBox Test

   End Sub

Additional query words: XL5 XL7 XL97 XL98

Keywords          : kbprg kbdta kbdtacode SynFnc KbVBA 
Version           : WINDOWS:2.x,3.0,4.0,5.0,5.0c,7.0,97; MACINTOSH:2.x,3.0,4.0,5.0,5.0a,98
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: May 17, 1999