Type =TODAY() for a date that stays current, press Ctrl+; for a fixed date, or type one date and drag the fill handle to fill a column with days, weekdays or months.
You are filling in a log or invoice sheet and want today’s date to show up without typing it, or you need a whole column of dates to run down the page by day, weekday or month. These steps cover Excel for Microsoft 365 and Excel 2016 through 2024.
Pick the Method That Matches Your Sheet
“Auto populate” can mean three different jobs, and the wrong choice causes the most common mistake: an invoice date that quietly changes the next time someone opens the file.
| What you want | Use this | Does it change later? |
|---|---|---|
| A cell that always shows the current date | =TODAY() or =NOW() | Yes, when the sheet recalculates |
| The date you entered a row, kept for good | Ctrl+; (and Ctrl+Shift+; for time) | No |
| A column of dates by day, weekday, month or year | Fill handle, Fill > Series, or SEQUENCE | Fill results are fixed; SEQUENCE based on TODAY moves |
Show the Current Date With TODAY or NOW
TODAY returns the current date and NOW returns the date and time. Neither takes anything between the parentheses.
- Click the cell where the date should appear, such as the “Report date” cell at the top of a sheet.
- Type
=TODAY()(or=NOW()if you also want the time) and press Enter. - Excel shows the date. If the cell was formatted as General, Excel switches it to a date format for you.
Here is the part the formula’s name hides: these results are not updated continuously. Per Microsoft, they change when the worksheet is calculated or when a macro that contains the function runs. With automatic calculation on (the default), that happens often, for example when you edit a cell or open the workbook, but it is a recalculation, not a live clock. Press F9 to recalculate on demand.
Because the result is a date serial number, you can do math with it. =TODAY()+30 gives the date 30 days from now, which is handy for a due date column, and =NOW()-0.5 goes back 12 hours. For age or date gaps, see working out an age from a birthdate.
Stamp a Date That Never Changes
For logs, receipts and invoices, you want the date the entry was made, not today’s date every time the file opens. Microsoft calls this a static value: a snapshot that doesn’t change when the worksheet is recalculated or opened.
- Select the cell.
- Press Ctrl+; (Control and semicolon) to enter today’s date.
- For the current time instead, press Ctrl+Shift+;.
- For both in one cell, press Ctrl+;, then Space, then Ctrl+Shift+;, and press Enter.
Say Abigail keeps a delivery log. Each time a package arrives she clicks the next empty cell in column A and presses Ctrl+;. A month later, every row still shows the day it was logged. If she had typed =TODAY() in each row, the whole column would show the same, newest date.
Can Excel stamp the date automatically when you type in a neighboring cell? Some sites suggest a formula that relies on iterative calculation and a deliberate circular reference. Microsoft documents iterative calculation only for handling circular references, not as a timestamp tool, and the trick can break or recalculate unexpectedly. The shortcut above is the reliable route. On a Mac, the shortcut keys may differ, so look for “Insert the current date and time” in Excel’s Help if Ctrl+; does nothing.
Fill a Column With a Series of Dates
This is the fastest way to build a schedule, timesheet or calendar column.
- Type the first date in a cell, for example 11/2/2026, and press Enter.
- Click that cell again and point to the small square at its lower right corner (the fill handle). The pointer turns into a thin plus sign.
- Drag down (or across) as far as you need. Excel adds one day per cell.
- When you let go, an Auto Fill Options button appears near the last cell. Click it and choose Fill Days, Fill Weekdays, Fill Months, Fill Years or Copy Cells.
Fill Weekdays skips Saturdays and Sundays, which suits a work log. Fill Months keeps the day number and moves the month (the 15th of each month for a bill tracker). Copy Cells repeats the same date in every cell.
To set your own pattern, enter two dates first. Type a Monday and the Wednesday after it, select both cells, then drag the fill handle: Excel continues every other day. A start date and the date one week later gives you weekly dates.
Use Fill > Series for a Long or Exact Range
Dragging 365 rows is tedious. Microsoft’s sequential dates instructions point to the Fill command instead: select the cell with the first date and the empty cells below it, then choose Fill > Series (on Windows, look for Fill in the Editing group on the Home tab). In the dialog, choose the date unit you want (days, weekdays, months or years) and the step, such as 7 for weekly. The exact field names in that dialog can vary slightly by version.
Build Date Lists With Formulas
Formulas are useful when the list should start from a date in another cell or from today.
- SEQUENCE (Excel for Microsoft 365, 2024, 2021 and the iPad, iPhone and Android apps): its arguments are rows, columns, start and step.
=SEQUENCE(14,1,TODAY(),1)spills the next 14 days down a column. Format the cells as dates, or you will see serial numbers. Since it is built on TODAY, the list moves forward as the date changes. - WORKDAY:
=WORKDAY(A2,1)returns the next business day after the date in A2, skipping weekends. Add a range of holiday dates as a third argument to skip those too. Enter the first date with a cell reference or the DATE function, for example=DATE(2026,11,2), so Excel does not read it as text. - Plain addition: put a date in A2, type
=A2+1in A3 and fill down. Change A2 and the whole list shifts.
For sheets that should refresh their values on their own, setting a spreadsheet to update automatically covers the wider picture.
Change How the Date Looks
- Select the date cells and press Ctrl+1 (or right-click and choose Format Cells).
- On the Number tab, choose Date (or Time) under Category.
- Pick a style under Type and click OK.
Formats that start with an asterisk follow the computer’s regional settings, so the same file can show 11/2/2026 on one PC and 02/11/2026 on another. Pick a format without an asterisk, or use the Locale box, if the layout must stay fixed. Choose Custom and enter a code like ddd mmm d, yyyy for “Mon Nov 2, 2026”. Ctrl+Shift+# applies the default date format in one keystroke.
When Dates Don’t Behave
- A number like 46328 appears instead of a date. The value is fine; the cell is formatted as a number. Apply a date format as above.
- The cell shows #####. The column is too narrow for the date. Double-click the right edge of the column header to widen it.
- TODAY shows yesterday’s date. Calculation may be set to manual. Go to File > Options > Formulas and set Calculation options to Automatic, or press F9.
- Dragging copies the same date. Click Auto Fill Options and pick Fill Days, or check that the starting cell holds a real date rather than text.
- Excel turns part numbers into dates. That is the opposite problem; see keeping Excel from changing numbers to dates.
Microsoft’s page on inserting the current date and time in a cell lists the shortcuts and functions in one place if you want the source.
Questions about dates in Excel
How do I turn a TODAY formula into a fixed date?
Copy the cell, then use Paste Special and choose Values. The formula is replaced by the date it showed at that moment, which will not change again.
Will TODAY change the date on old invoices?
Yes, any cell using TODAY shows the date of the latest recalculation, so an invoice saved in March will show a November date when opened in November. Use Ctrl+; for dates that are part of a record.
Can I fill only the first day of each month?
Type the first of a month, drag the fill handle, and choose Fill Months from Auto Fill Options. Each cell moves forward one month and stays on the 1st.
Does Excel sort dates I filled in?
Filled dates are real dates, so they sort from earliest to latest by default. For a mixed list, sorting by date in Excel online walks through it.
Start with the table at the top: decide whether your date should move or stay put, then set up one cell and fill the rest.
Matthew Burleigh is the founder, head writer, and editor of Solve Your Tech, which he launched in 2012. He has written technology tutorials since 2008 and worked in IT since 2003, including small-business support, IT management, and consulting. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from Arizona State University.
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