How to Use the Excel NOW Function? 3 Examples
Note: This tutorial on how to use the Excel NOW Function is suitable for all Excel versions including Office 365.
Have you ever wondered how to use the current date and time inside a spreadsheet without manually entering the value each time? The NOW function in Excel solves this issue. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the NOW function’s syntax and explain how to use it properly with the help of some examples.
You’ll learn:
- NOW Function in Excel
- Excel NOW Function Syntax
- How to Use the NOW Function in Excel?
- Other Reasons to Use the NOW Function
- How to Make the NOW() Function Static?
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NOW Function in Excel
The NOW function will return the serial value of the current date and time This can either be directly displayed or used inside other functions to calculate other time-dependent values.
In Excel, all dates are actually stored as sequential serial numbers starting with 1 for 1st January 1900. This means that the number 30 signifies 30th January 1900, and the number 44600 signifies 8th February 2022.
If used directly in a cell, it will automatically convert the cell formatting to the regional date and time format. It is important to remember that the NOW function is volatile in nature. That is, it resets its value to the current time and date whenever the worksheets are opened or calculated.
Excel NOW Function Syntax
The NOW formula’s syntax is very straightforward.
=NOW()
Please note that the parentheses have to remain empty for the function to work properly, i.e the function should have no arguments.
How to Use the NOW Function in Excel?
There is nothing too complicated about using the NOW function in Excel. But, there are some important things to remember while using it. The following examples will help illustrate these better.
Example 1: NOW Function to Display Current Date and Time
This is the plain and simple application of the Excel NOW function. Directly enter the =NOW() formula into a cell to display the current date and time inside it. The date and time value will be updated whenever the sheet is opened again or formulas are calculated. You can manually update this by pressing F9.
Example 2: NOW Function to Set Appointment Alerts
Let’s say for example your job is to manage your boss’s appointments and you have set up an Excel spreadsheet to track them. Now, you want to create a dashboard that alerts you about nearing appointments in the next 1 hour.
You can easily do this using the Excel NOW function by following these steps:
- Enter the time and date of the upcoming appointment in the standard date and time format in, let’s say, cell C9.
- In a different cell, use the formula =IF(C9-NOW()<1/24,” Meeting in 1 Hour ”, “ No Meeting in Next 1 Hour “)
This formula finds the difference in time between the scheduled appointment and the current time to alert the user if it is less than 1 hour.
To improve this further you can set conditional formatting based on the IF condition and even set up notification alerts using VBA macros. Please note that this will work only if the spreadsheet is updated or re-opened.
Also Read:
How to Use Goal Seek in Excel? (3 Simple Examples)
How to Insert Multiple Rows in Excel? The 4 Best Methods
How to Autofit Excel Cells? 3 Best Methods
Example 3: NOW Function Miscellaneous Uses
Its applications don’t stop there. You can do any of the following date and time-related operations with the Excel NOW function.
Please remember that when using data and time-related calculations, a unit of 1 implies 1 day and 1/24th of a unit implies an hour.
Other Reasons to Use the NOW Function
The NOW function is usually used before printing spreadsheets to display the time and date when the printout was taken.
One more important use case of the NOW function is to keep track of the duration of any particular process. It can be used manually or automated with VBA to record the start time and finish time of a process to calculate its duration.
How to Make the NOW() Function Static?
The only way to make the NOW function’s time static is to copy its contents and paste them as values somewhere else. You can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+C to copy it and Alt+E+S+V to paste special as value.
Alternatively, if you want to avoid all of this and directly print a static value of the current time, use the shortcut
Ctrl + Shift + ;
If you want to include the current date, use Ctrl +; to first print the date, add a space and follow it up with
Ctrl + Shift +;
Suggested Reads:
How to Group Worksheets in Excel? (In 3 Simple Steps)
How to Shade Every Other Row in Excel? (5 Best Methods)
How to Use the Excel Fill Handle Easily? (Top 3 Uses with Examples)
Closing Thoughts
In this short guide, I have shown how to properly use the NOW function in Excel. I hope you find this very useful in your spreadsheet calculations. If you have any questions about this or any other Excel feature, feel free to let us know in the comments. We’re always happy to help.
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Adam Lacey
Adam Lacey is an Excel enthusiast and online learning expert. He combines these two passions at Simon Sez IT where he wears a number of different hats. When Adam isn't fretting about site traffic or Pivot Tables, you'll find him on the tennis court or in the kitchen cooking up a storm.