Question

Simple Excel question

Asked by: Mannsi

I'm having what can only be described as a simple Excel problem. I have the following value

51,9451388888889

That I wan't to convert to the format 'dd:hh;mm'. I wan't it to display 51:22:41 but Excel wants it to be 20 feb 22:41. How do I change it ?

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Asked On
2008-06-16 at 03:29:17ID23487621
Topic

Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet Software

Participating Experts
3
Points
500
Comments
18

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Answers

 

by: patrickabPosted on 2008-06-16 at 04:34:27ID: 21792510

Mannsi,

The date system works on a 24hr clock so 51:22:41 cannot exist unless you create a custom format that is most probably VBA-driven.

By the way what is this:

51,9451388888889

It's not a number and it's not thousands or millions. Did you mean:

51.9451388888889

Patrick

 

by: patrickabPosted on 2008-06-16 at 04:37:39ID: 21792526

Just for info'

The number:

519451

Is this date:

16/03/3322

 

by: roryaPosted on 2008-06-16 at 04:46:10ID: 21792573

Divide the value by 24 and then give it a custom format of:
[h]:mm:ss

Regards,
Rory

 

by: fanpagesPosted on 2008-06-16 at 04:48:26ID: 21792589

51.9451388888889 with a custom format of d mmm hh:mm is indeed 20/02/2008 22:41.

The required output of 51:22:41 presumably refers to 51 days past the beginning of the year (20 February) & 41 minutes past the 22nd hour (22:41) on that day.

Is this presumption correct?

BFN,

fp.

 

by: patrickabPosted on 2008-06-16 at 04:48:39ID: 21792590

Mannsi,

And, as you say:

51.9451

comes out as:

22:40:57

With 51.9451 in cell A1 this will give you 51:22:41

=INT(A1)&":"&INT(MOD(A1,1)*24)&":"&ROUND(MOD(MOD(A1,1)*24,1)*60,0)

Hope it helps

Patrick

 

by: fanpagesPosted on 2008-06-16 at 04:49:29ID: 21792597

[d mmm hh:mm] = [20 Feb 22:41]

not "20/02/2008 22:41"

Ooops! :)

 

by: fanpagesPosted on 2008-06-16 at 04:50:31ID: 21792603

Too many cooks here now.  I'll leave the question up to Rory & Patrick.

(Hi... and 'bye, guys).

BFN,

fp.

 

by: roryaPosted on 2008-06-16 at 04:58:54ID: 21792666

Long time no see - been busy? :)

 

by: MannsiPosted on 2008-06-16 at 05:08:23ID: 21792733

Wow, I went to lunch for 30 min and got 7 replies :)  
I'm sorry about my lack of clarity. I'm from Iceland and here we use commas where Americans use periods (There is a semi famous quote in icelandic that goes something like "is the period a period or a comma ?"). What I want is for the number 51.9451388888889 to read as 51 (days) (22 hours) : 41 (minute). I just want Excel to think of this number as a length of time.

Patrickab: your solution works if I change all the commas to a " ; " but since this is a query result that will get overridden every time the query is run, I don't see how this can be done without adding a number of worksheets, which I hope I don't have to do.

Let the brainstorming continue :)

 

by: roryaPosted on 2008-06-16 at 05:13:13ID: 21792772

There is no built in format that will display elapsed time like that. If you can display it all as hours, without days, then you can use the format I posted. If you use formulas to convert the number into text to get the days, then you can't add them up (which I assume was the point from your earlier question).
Regards,
Rory

 

by: MannsiPosted on 2008-06-16 at 05:28:35ID: 21792878

Ok, thanks for your answers guys.

 

by: patrickabPosted on 2008-06-16 at 07:30:57ID: 21793951

Mannsi - Thanks for the points - Patrick

 

by: fanpagesPosted on 2008-06-17 at 06:29:37ID: 21802721

Coming back to your comment, Mannsi:

"Patrickab: your solution works if I change all the commas to a " ; " but since this is a query result that will get overridden every time the query is run, I don't see how this can be done without adding a number of worksheets, which I hope I don't have to do."

You could amend your Query to replace all the commas with semi-colons so that the resultant data is always as you wished (and it does not get "overridden").

But if you are satisfied with the results, then just ignore me :)

Rory: I just didn't get 'on' with the new site colo[u]r-scheme (due to my colo[u]r-blindness... I've only been 'back' a few times since the redesign.  I see you have been busy overtaking me in the Excel rankings... Congratulations on your MVP too! :)

Patrick: Are you still looking for work?  Hope you're looking after Mrs A-B & she's still keeping you well fed :)

PS. Mannsi:

Patrick & I are both in the UK.

We have a saying here: "England and America are two countries separated by a common language" :)  The separation is typically by a comma in both cases, though.

PPS. What is the difference between a cat and a comma?

A cat has claws at the end of its paws; a comma has a pause at the end of its clause.

I'll get my coat...

(That's another UK saying).

See you in another 12 months time...

BFN,

fp.

 

by: roryaPosted on 2008-06-17 at 06:37:35ID: 21802806

>> "I just didn't get 'on' with the new site colo[u]r-scheme"
Understandable, though the expert skin has more sedate colours for us reserved Brits. :)

 

by: fanpagesPosted on 2008-06-18 at 03:04:04ID: 21811373

:)

Yes, the 'Premium' skin looks like it was designed by VBAExpress.com %)

 

by: roryaPosted on 2008-06-18 at 03:08:18ID: 21811385

You don't like fluorescent green?? ;)

 

by: fanpagesPosted on 2008-07-01 at 07:21:40ID: 21908081

Oh is that what colo[u]r it is?

I just felt a stabbing pain in my retina & closed the browser window.

(Better take the teaspoon out of my cup before I drink from it next time)

BFN,

fp.

 

by: patrickabPosted on 2008-07-01 at 11:03:47ID: 21910067

Nigel,

I tried to email you but so far without success.

Patrick

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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