Excel Online - Displaying date and time in a cell in a worldwide standard format (dd/mm/yyyy hh:mm)

Question

Excel Online - Displaying date and time in a cell in a worldwide standard format (dd/mm/yyyy hh:mm)

Anonymous

Hi all,

I'm using Microsoft Excel online in SharePoint for Teams. The workbook I'm referencing is the output of a Microsoft Forms submission set (but I think it would apply to any Excel document).

I've been scratching my head over this one. I've got a cell that contains date/time information (The 'Completion time' for the form). When I set it to English (USA) I have the option to display both the date and time in the same cell ( e.g., 04/22/2025 2:45 PM ) but when I use English (Australian) which adheres to the international standard dd/mm/yyyy format, Excel removes the option to display date and time. It forces you to display either date OR time, which leads to missing information. I tried a few other English formats and saw much the same. The 'custom' number format does not allow the entry of a formatting string in Excel Online and none of the provided 'custom' options are useful.

Am I missing something here? I've probably just missed something obvious. Or is the complete date/time display only available when in the objectively incorrect USA date format?

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

Answer accepted by question author

2 additional answers

Answer 1

Hi Customer,

Thank you so much for your kind reply! I’m really glad to hear that you were eventually able to get it working, even if it took a few extra steps. I truly appreciate your persistence and the time you took to share what worked for you, it’s incredibly helpful.

Your feedback means a lot to me personally, and it also helps other users who are searching for similar solutions. A helpful vote or comment can guide others to the right information more quickly and easily.

If the Microsoft Community site doesn’t let you mark the answer, you can still support by clicking “Yes” or "No" under “Was this reply helpful?” or by responding to the Drive Survey if you receive one. Your feedback means a lot and helps others find the right answers faster and motivates me to develop more.

Wishing you all the best in 2025 and beyond!

Warm regards,
Sophie N - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Answer 2

Dear Customer,

Thank you for reaching out regarding the date and time formatting issue in Excel Online.

You're absolutely right — when using regional settings such as English (Australia) or English (USA), Excel Online restricts the available date/time formats under the "Type" section. These formats are predefined based on the selected locale and cannot be modified or extended directly in Excel Online.

This behavior is confirmed by Microsoft in their official documentation:

“The built-in date or time format can't be changed or deleted…”— Microsoft Support – Format numbers as dates or times

Recommended Workaround

To display both date and time in the international format (mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm), please follow these steps:

Select the cell(s) you want to format.
Go to Home > Number Format > More Number Formats.
In the Format Cells dialog:
- Choose Category: Custom.
- In the Type field, enter: m/d/yyyy h:mm
- Click OK to apply.

If you're using Excel Online and the Custom option is not editable, we recommend opening the file in Excel Desktop, applying the custom format there, and saving the file. The format will persist when reopened in Excel Online.

If the information above is helpful, kindly mark it as an answer. This will also assist others in the community who may have similar questions about excel file complexity.

Please let me know how it goes after trying the steps above. I’m here to help further if needed.

Best regards,
Sophie N - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Answer 3

Hi Sophie,

Thank you for the reply! I followed the steps and they unfortunately did not solve my issue right away, but I was able to get it to work eventually. The date/time format did not persist between desktop and online. At least not right away. I had to change the regional settings on the document back and forth a few times (in the Online version) before it would acknowledge.

With that caveat, your response did help me find the solution, so I would like to mark it as the answer, but the Microsoft Community website doesn't seem to allow me to do that :(

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Excel Online - Displaying date and time in a cell in a worldwide standard format (dd/mm/yyyy hh:mm)

2 additional answers