The TODAY function
Today's date, with no argument. It changes every day, and that is what people forget: a document dated with TODAY does not keep its date.
Syntax
=TODAY()
In a French Excel: =AUJOURDHUI().
Arguments
- No argument: the parentheses stay empty.
An example
=TODAY()-B2
The number of days late since the due date in B2 (Number format, not Date).
Pitfalls
- It is volatile: the whole workbook recalculates on every change, which slows large files.
- To freeze the date, Ctrl+; types it as a value.
Going further
Frequently asked questions
- Why does the result show as a number?
- It is a date: format the cell as Date. Conversely, for a number of days, format it as Number.