excel syntax problem for formula... difference in days

[jorpe]

if I have 2 columns of dates and I want to find the number of days between the days of D2 and C2, what is the syntax for the formula so that the result in column E is x number of days between the two dates

 

[Dwarf]

Format the columns as follows:

Columns C and D as Date (you choose the specific date format).
Column E as Number (with 0 Decimal places).

The formula to use in Column E to give the difference in days is as follows (assuming that C is an earlier date than D):

E=D-C (E2=D2-C2)

If you want the number of days between, but not counting either day, then the formula is:

E=D-C-1 (E2=D2-C2-1)

If, on the other hand, you want to know the inclusive number of days, the formula is:

E=D-C+1 (E2=D2-C2+1)

Note that the above may yield negative results. To avoid that, use these modified formulae instead:

E=ABS(D-C) (E2=ABS(D2-C2))
E=ABS(D-C)-1 (E2=ABS(D2-C2)-1)
E=ABS(D-C)+1 (E2=ABS(D2-C2)+1)

 

[jorpe]

Thank you, I didn't realize I could subtract dates like that.

 

[Dwarf]

You're welcome. Incidentally, if the dates happen to be the same (which is unlikely, but cannot be totally ruled out), then the following minor alteration to the relative formulae will take care of it (and are the versions that I recommend).

E2=IF((D2==C2),0,ABS(D2-C2))
E2=IF((D2==C2),0,ABS(D2-C2)-1)
E2=IF((D2==C2),0,ABS(D2-C2)+1)