เทคนิคใช้เครื่องมือ text to column แปลงวันที่ให้ถูกต้อง

Introduction

This tutorial will guide you through the process of using the "Text to Columns" feature in Excel to correctly format dates. Specifically, you will learn how to convert dates formatted as "YYYYMMDD" into a more standard "DD/MM/YYYY" format. This technique is particularly useful for organizing data and ensuring accuracy in date representation.

Step 1: Open Your Excel File

• Launch Excel and open the file containing the dates you want to convert.
• Ensure that the dates are in a single column for easy processing.

Step 2: Select the Date Column

• Click on the header of the column that contains the dates. This will highlight the entire column.
• If needed, you can also select a specific range of cells within that column.

Step 3: Access the Text to Columns Tool

• Navigate to the "Data" tab in the Excel ribbon.
• Click on the "Text to Columns" button. This will open the Convert Text to Columns Wizard.

Step 4: Choose the Delimited Option

• In the Wizard, select "Delimited" and click "Next."
• This option allows you to specify how the text is separated, though we will mainly be converting formats.

Step 5: Specify Delimiters

• Uncheck all delimiter options (e.g., Tab, Semicolon, Comma) since you are converting a date format.
• Click "Next" to proceed to the next step.

Step 6: Set the Data Format

• In the next screen, select "Date" under 'Column data format.'
• Choose "YMD" from the dropdown menu to match the current format of your dates.
• Click "Finish" to complete the process.

Step 7: Format the Dates Correctly

• After applying the Text to Columns tool, your dates will still be in the original format.
• To change the display format, right-click on the selected column.
• Choose "Format Cells."
• Select "Custom" and input the format "DD/MM/YYYY" in the Type field.
• Click "OK" to apply the new date format.

Conclusion

You have successfully converted dates from the "YYYYMMDD" format to "DD/MM/YYYY" using the Text to Columns feature in Excel. This method is efficient for managing large datasets and ensuring that dates are correctly displayed for analysis. As a next step, consider practicing this technique with different date formats or exploring additional data manipulation tools within Excel to enhance your data management skills.