DATEVALUE

Returns the serial number of the date represented by date_text. Use DATEVALUE to convert a date represented by text to a serial number.

Syntax

DATEVALUE(date_text)

Date_text is text that represents a date in a date format. For example, "1/30/2008" or "30-Jan-2008" are text strings within quotation marks that represent dates.

If the year portion of date_text is omitted, DATEVALUE uses the current year from your server's built-in clock. Time information in date_text is ignored.

Remarks

Dates are stored as sequential serial numbers so they can be used in calculations. By default, December 31, 1899 is serial number 1, and January 1, 2008 is serial number 39448 because it is 39,448 days after January 1, 1900.
Most functions automatically convert date values to serial numbers.

Example

Formula	Description (Result)
=DATEVALUE("8/22/2008")	Serial number of the text date (39682)
=DATEVALUE("22-AUG-2008")	Serial number of the text date (39682)
=DATEVALUE("2008/02/23")	Serial number of the text date (39501)
=DATEVALUE("5-JUL")	Serial number of the text date, assuming the computer's built-in clock is set to 2000 (37807)