Learn the TODAY Function in Excel: Quick Tips and Shortcuts

In this session, you'll dive deep into the TODAY function in Excel, which allows you to quickly obtain the current date. You'll discover various ways to input today's date manually, learn to use the TODAY function efficiently, and explore a convenient keyboard shortcut. Additionally, you'll understand the differences between the methods and their practical use cases.

What will you learn

How to manually enter today's date in Excel.
How to use the TODAY function to dynamically display the current date.
The syntax and usage of the TODAY function.
How to use the shortcut Ctrl + Semicolon to quickly enter today's date.
Differences between using the TODAY function and using direct date input.
Practical examples and use cases for dynamic and static date entries.

Takeaway notes

The TODAY function in Excel can dynamically display the current date with the syntax =TODAY().
Manual date entry in formats like 8-5-21 or 8/5/21 is recognized by Excel as a date.
Using the shortcut Ctrl + Semicolon quickly inputs the static current date into a cell.
The TODAY function updates the date each day when the Excel file is opened, making it suitable for dynamic date tracking.
The Ctrl + Semicolon method enters today's date as a static value, which remains unchanged regardless of the date the file is accessed again.

Practice questions

Write the Excel formula to display today's date using the TODAY function.
Manually enter today's date in Excel using slashes (e.g., 8/5/21). What format must the date follow?
How does Excel recognize manually entered dates with different delimiters, such as hyphens or slashes?
What is the keyboard shortcut to quickly enter today's date in Excel?
Explain a scenario where using the TODAY function would be more beneficial than entering a static date.
How will the TODAY function behave if you open the Excel file three days later?
Describe the difference between a dynamic date entry and a static date entry in Excel.
Write an example formula using the TODAY function and explain its syntax.
How would you explain the TODAY function to someone new to Excel?
Enter today's date using the shortcut method Ctrl + Semicolon. Verify whether the date changes when the file is reopened.
Why might someone prefer to use a static date entry over the TODAY function?
Change the cell format to display the date as dd-mm-yyyy if the TODAY function is used.
What would happen if you use the TODAY function in a calculated column within an Excel table?
Create a small project task tracker using the TODAY function to show current dates.
Use the TODAY function along with another function (e.g., =TODAY()+7) to display a date one week from today.

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Learn the TODAY Function in Excel: Quick Tips and Shortcuts

What will you learn

Takeaway notes

Practice questions

Mark Lesson Complete (Learn the TODAY Function in Excel: Quick Tips and Shortcuts)

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Learn the TODAY Function in Excel: Quick Tips and Shortcuts

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