How to use the FORMAT Function with Dates (VBA)

Description

The Microsoft Excel FORMAT function takes a date expression and returns it as a formatted string.

Syntax

The syntax for the FORMAT function in Microsoft Excel is:

Format ( expression, [ format, [ firstdayofweek, [firstweekofyear] ] ] )

Parameters or Arguments

expression

The date value to format.

format

Optional. It is the format to apply to the expression. You can either define your own format or use one of the named formats that Excel has predefined such as:

Format	Explanation
General Date	Displays date based on your system settings
Long Date	Displays date based on your system's long date setting
Medium Date	Displays date based on your system's medium date setting
Short Date	Displays date based on your system's short date setting
Long Time	Displays time based on your system's long time setting
Medium Time	Displays time based on your system's medium time setting
Short Time	Displays time based on your system's short time setting

firstdayofweek

Optional. It is a value that specifies the first day of the week. If this parameter is omitted, it assumes that Sunday is the first day of the week. This parameter can be one of the following values:

Constant	Value	Explanation
vbUseSystem	0	Uses the NLS API setting
VbSunday	1	Sunday (default, if parameter is omitted)
vbMonday	2	Monday
vbTuesday	3	Tuesday
vbWednesday	4	Wednesday
vbThursday	5	Thursday
vbFriday	6	Friday
vbSaturday	7	Saturday

firstweekofyear

Optional. It is a value that specifies the first week of the year. If this parameter is omitted, it assumes that the week that contains January 1 is the first week of the year. This parameter can be one of the following values:

Constant	Value	Explanation
vbUseSystem	0	Uses the NLS API setting
vbFirstJan1	1	The week that contains January 1
vbFirstFourDays	2	The first week that has at least 4 days in the year
vbFirstFullWeek	3	The first full week of the year

Applies To

• Excel 2016, Excel 2013, Excel 2011 for Mac, Excel 2010, Excel 2007, Excel 2003, Excel XP, Excel 2000

Type of Function

• VBA function (VBA)

Example (as VBA Function)

The FORMAT function can only be used in VBA code in Microsoft Excel.

Let's look at some Excel FORMAT function examples and explore how to use the FORMAT function in Excel VBA code:

Format(#17/04/2004#, "Short Date")
Result: '17/04/2004'

Format(#17/04/2004#, "Long Date")
Result: 'April 17, 2004'

Format(#17/04/2004#, "yyyy/mm/dd")
Result: '2004/04/17'

For example:

Dim LValue As String

LValue = Format(Date, "yyyy/mm/dd")

In this example, the variable called LValue would now contain the date formatted as yyyy/mm/dd.