TEXT(MONTH(NOW()),"mmm") Always Returns "Jan" (129073)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
  • Microsoft Excel for Windows 95
  • Microsoft Excel for Windows 5.0
  • Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition
This article was previously published under Q129073

SYMPTOMS

When you nest the TEXT(), MONTH(), and NOW() functions as in the following example 
   =TEXT(MONTH(NOW()),"mmm")
Microsoft Excel will always return the result "Jan".

CAUSE

When you format a number using a date format (such as "mmm"), Excel interprets the number as the serial representation of the date. The number returned by the MONTH() function is always between 1 and 12, representing the months of the year.

In the following example, the current date is assumed to be February 1, 1995.

On a spreadsheet, type the following formula into a cell: 
   =TEXT(MONTH(NOW()),"mmm")
If the current date is February 1, 1995, the function MONTH(NOW()) correctly returns the value of 2. This is equivalent to MONTH(34731) because 2/1/95 is the 34731st day after 1/1/1900. TEXT(MONTH(NOW()),"mmm") evaluates to the same value as TEXT(2,"mmm"), because 2 is the serial representation of 1/2/1900. Therefore, it returns "Jan".

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied. This includes, but is not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language that is being demonstrated and with the tools that are used to create and to debug procedures. Microsoft support engineers can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific requirements. To format a date as a month, do not use the MONTH() function in the formula as illustrated in the following examples.

To enter the formula directly on a worksheet, type the following formula into a cell: 
   =TEXT(NOW(),"mmm")
The text string "Feb" is returned.

To use the formula in a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications procedure (this particular example illustrates how to display the current month as a text string in a message box), type the following Sub procedure in a module: 
   Sub Date_Format()

      Test = Format(Date, "mmm")

      ' Returns the current month as a text string
      ' if the current date is 2/1/95, "Feb" (without the quotation marks).
      MsgBox Test

   End Sub
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:8/15/2005
Keywords:kbdtacode kbprb kbProgramming KB129073
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