Merge Date and Time in Excel: A Simple Guide

Merging date and time in Microsoft Excel is a handy skill that can streamline your data handling, especially when dealing with time tracking, scheduling, or any dataset where precise temporal information is crucial. This guide will walk you through the various methods available to combine date and time values in Excel, each tailored to different user needs and preferences.

Understanding Date and Time in Excel

Before diving into the methods, it’s worth understanding how Excel handles date and time:

• Date: Excel stores dates as sequential numbers where January 1, 1900, is 1, and each subsequent day adds 1 to this number.
• Time: Time is stored as fractional parts of a day. For example, noon is represented as 0.5 (half a day) in Excel.

📅 Note: Ensure your Excel is set to use the 1900 date system, which is the default, for accurate calculations.

Method 1: Using Concatenate Function

The simplest way to merge date and time without any arithmetic manipulation is by using the CONCATENATE function:

• Enter a date in one cell, for example, A1.
• Enter a time in another cell, for example, B1.
• Use the formula in C1: =CONCATENATE(A1,” “,B1)

This method will combine the date and time as text, but it does not alter their individual formats.

Method 2: Using & Operator

If you prefer a shorter syntax, you can use the & operator for the same effect:

• Formula in C1: =A1&” “&B1

Both the CONCATENATE function and the & operator join the values, but the result is a string, which might not be ideal for further date calculations.

Method 3: Using Formulas

For a merge that retains numeric values for calculations:

• Assume A1 has a date and B1 has a time.
• In C1, enter the formula: =A1 + B1

This adds the date and time values as numbers, which can then be formatted as date-time:

💡 Note: Format the result cell (C1) to display as date and time for a meaningful output.

Method 4: Using TEXT Function

Using the TEXT function allows for more flexibility in formatting:

• Formula in C1: =TEXT(A1, “yyyy-mm-dd”) & “ ” & TEXT(B1, “hh:mm:ss”)

This method provides control over the display format, making it suitable for presentations or reporting.

Using DATEVALUE and TIMEVALUE Functions

If you have strings representing dates and times, you can convert them to values:

• Formula in C1: =DATEVALUE(A1) + TIMEVALUE(B1)

This converts text into Excel’s numeric representation, allowing for arithmetic operations.

Formatting the Result

After merging:

• Right-click the cell with the merged value.
• Select “Format Cells.”
• Choose “Custom” from the list, and enter a format like m/d/yyyy hh:mm AM/PM or yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss.

This ensures your merged date and time display correctly and consistently.

Handling Time Zones

When merging date and time, consider time zones if your data spans different regions:

• Use Excel’s INTL and INTL add-ins or VBA scripts to handle time zone conversions.

🌍 Note: For complex time zone management, consider external tools or custom VBA code.

In this comprehensive guide, we've explored various methods to merge date and time in Excel, ensuring that you can pick the one that best fits your data analysis needs. Whether you require simple concatenation or need to preserve values for calculations, Excel provides multiple paths to achieve your goal. Keep in mind that formatting the result cell appropriately is crucial for the merged values to display correctly. With these techniques at your disposal, managing date and time data will become more efficient, allowing for better data handling and analysis in Excel.