Today Function

Hi friends,

In my last discussion I've shown you how to use the DATE Function, a very basic function; today I'll discuss about the 'TODAY' Function which is frequently used in daily data analysis.

Description

The Microsoft Excel TODAY function returns the current system date. This function will refresh the date whenever the worksheet recalculates/opened.

The TODAY function is a built-in function in Excel that is categorized as a Date/Time Function. You can use TODAY function as part of a formula in a cell of a worksheet.

Syntax

The syntax for the TODAY function in Microsoft Excel is very simple.

=TODAY()

Parameters or Arguments

There are NO parameters or arguments for the TODAY function.

Returns

The TODAY function returns a serial date value (a serial date is how Excel stores dates internally)

Example

The function is very easy because you don't need to enter any parameter or argument in this function. Just type '=today' and open and close bracket '()', press enter and you are done.

If you need to ADD or SUBTRACT days from today, simply type the TODAY function and either ADD or SUBTRACT the number of days you want to add or subtract like,

=TODAY()-5 (if the current date is 10-03-2018, he result would be 05-03-2018).

If you directly subtract today from any provided date, the result will be the DAY difference (in number). e.g.,

=10-08-2017 - TODAY()

Latter I'll show you few examples in next articles whenever necessary.

Please Note : The spreadsheet will continue to display this value, until the worksheet recalculates i.e., let suppose if you had entered date using this function yesterday (like : 09-03-2018)  and if you open your excel workbook next day, the date will automatically be refreshed to current system date (like : 10-03-2018).

Hope you have enjoyed this article.

Keep reading and keep growing your knowledge in Excel...

Thank you for reading...