Switch off automatic formatting

**nsv** · 03-04-2009, 10:12 AM

I am currently working on a formula in which the month value of a date is used for counting some months backwards.
My problem is that every time I edit the formula the current cell is automatically formatted to dd-mm-yyyy hh:mm and that not only expands the column width and thus upsets the graphs on the sheet, but it also converts the result of the calculation to pure nonsense completely out of the context. So for each editing I must enter cells formatting to change it back to normal.

Is there a way to switch off this automatic formatting?

NSV

**Richard Buttrey** · 03-04-2009, 10:46 AM

Why not just select the whole column and reset the formatting to dd/mm/yy or whatever format you need?

HTH

**nsv** · 03-04-2009, 10:51 AM

I need the general format and I keep setting it in the whole column, but as soon as I edit the cell the format is automatically set back to the date format

**Richard Buttrey** · 03-04-2009, 11:16 AM

Why do you need the General format? If the whole column contains dates, why not format the column as a date - with whatever date format is appropriate?

Rgds

**nsv** · 03-05-2009, 04:52 AM

I make a calculation in which something occurring in March requires that 3 is subtracted in an equation; if the same thing happens in August then I must subtract 8, etc.
The result of this equation is a rate of change for a certain process and it has nothing to do whatsoever whith a date or a time of day or anything of that kind.
However, when typing a formula in a cell and in this formula referring to a date value in another cell then the formula cell is automatically formatted as a date. I cannot use the result when it comes out as 02-03-1900 12:28 and I therefore need to reset it to a normal number which I must do everytime I have made an edition of the formula.

Is it possible to switch off this automatic formatting?