Apply Long Date Format in Excel

Dates in Excel are saved as serial numbers where the date January 1, 1900, is stored as the number 1, and each following day is stored as the following consecutive number.

We can format the date serial numbers to display dates in many ways.

One of the formats we can use to display dates in Excel is the Long Date format.

We use the Long Date format to display the date information in a human-readable and more detailed form.

The Long Date format is helpful when the date information is essential and needs to be put across more clearly, for example, when tracking timelines, generating reports, creating timetables, etc.

This tutorial uses easy-to-follow examples to show three techniques for applying the Long Date format in Excel.

Table of Contents

Codes Used in Excel to Create Date Formats

We shall better understand the application of the Long Date format in Excel when we first describe the various codes used in Excel to build date formats.

Excel uses the following codes to construct date formats:

Code	What does it mean?
d	Shows the month’s day without leading zeroes (e.g., 5).
dd	Exhibits the day of the month as a two-digit number (e.g., 05).
ddd	Shows the weekday name in abbreviated form (e.g., Tue for Tuesday).
dddd	Displays the full weekday name (e.g., Tuesday).
m	Exhibits the month as a number without leading zeroes (e.g., 4 for April).
mm	Displays the month as a two-digit number (e.g., 04 for April).
mmm	Shows the month name in abbreviated form (e.g., Jan for January).
mmmm	Displays the full month name (e.g., January).
yy	Shows the year as a two-digit number (e.g., 23 for 2023)
yyyy	Presents the year as a four-digit number (e.g., 2023).

What is the Long Date Format in Excel?

The Long Date format in Excel is “dddd, mmmm dd, yyyy.” An example of a date in this format is

Tuesday, February 07, 2023

The long format shows the full name of the day along with the full name of the month, the day number, and the year number.

Now let’s jump into the tutorial and discover the three methods for applying the Long Date format in Excel.

Also read: How to Apply Short Date Format in Excel?

Method #1: Use the Format Cells Dialog Box to Apply the Long Date Format in Excel

Using the Format Cells dialog box, we can apply the Long Date format in Excel.

Let’s consider the following dataset showing a section of a particular technical writer’s writing schedule.

The due dates for the various articles are displayed in column C in the “yyyy-mm-dd” format.

data set with dates that need to be changed into long date format

We want to change the format of the due dates to the Long Date format using the Format Cells dialog box.

We use the steps below:

Select range C2:C6 containing the due dates.

Right-click the selection and choose Format Cells on the shortcut menu that appears.

right click and then click on format cells option

Note: Alternatively, we can open the Format Cells dialog box by pressing Ctrl + 1.

On the Format Cells dialog box on the Number tab, select the Date category on the Category list box, and Wednesday, March 14, 2012, type on the Type list box.

select the long date format in the format cells dialog box

Notice the sample date in the Long Date format on the Sample box.

you can see the date in the preview space

Click OK.

The Long Date format is applied immediately to the due dates in column C.

Note: After applying the Long Date format, we may notice hash marks (####) in column C instead of dates, as shown below:

The hash marks appear because the column is not wide enough to display the entire contents.

We can widen the column by double-clicking the right border of column C to adjust the width automatically, or we can manually drag the right edge to increase the width.

Can’t See the Long Date Format In the Dialog Box!

If you do not see Wednesday, March 14, 2012, on the Type list box, do not panic.

You only need to change the Regional format to English (United States) on your computer by doing the following:

Click the Start button on the taskbar and choose the Settings option on the list that appears.

On the Settings window, choose the Time & Language option.

On the extended Settings window, select Region on the left sidebar, open the Regional format drop-down on the panel on the right, and select English (United States).

change the regional format to English United States

Notice the sample date in the Long Date format in the Regional format data section of the Settings window.

When you switch to Excel, Wednesday, March 14, 2012, now appears on the Type list box on the Format Cells dialog box.

Method #2: Use the Number Format Drop-down to Apply a Long Date Format in Excel

The Number Format drop-down is found in the Number group on the Home tab.

We can use the Numbers Format drop-down to apply the Long Date format in Excel.

The following dataset shows a section of a particular technical writer’s writing schedule. The due dates for the various articles are displayed in column C in the “yyyy-mm-dd” format.

data set with dates where dates need to be changed into long date format

We want to use the Number Format drop-down to apply the Long Date format to the due dates in column C.

We proceed as follows:

Select the cell range C2:C6 containing the due dates.

On the Home tab, in the Number group, open the Number Format drop-down and choose Long Date on the menu.

select the long date option from the Dropdown

The Long Date format is applied suddenly to the due dates in column C.

Note: If you do not see the Long Date option on the Number Format drop-down, change the Regional format settings on your computer to English (United States), as explained in Method #1.

Method #3: Use the TEXT Function to Convert a Date to a Text String in the Long Date Format

The Excel TEXT function converts a number to text in a specific number format.

For example, we can use this function to convert a date to a text string that appears like a date in the Long Date format.

However, unlike in Method #1 and Method #2, where the results are dates that we can use in date calculations, the TEXT function returns text strings that we cannot use in date calculations.

The following dataset shows a section of a particular technical writer’s writing schedule.

The due dates for the various articles are displayed in column C in the “yyyy-mm-dd” format.

data set where we want to convert due date into long date format

We want to apply the TEXT function to return the due dates in column C as text strings in the Long Date format and display them in column D.

We use the below steps:

Select cell D2 and type in the below formula:

=TEXT(C2,"dddd, mmmm dd, yyyy")

Press the enter key to enter the formula.
Copy the formula down (you can do a simple opy paste or drag the fill handle down).

Notice that the values in column D are left aligned, meaning they are not dates but text strings.

This tutorial showed three techniques for applying the Long Date format in Excel. We hope you found the information helpful.

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How to Apply Long Date Format in Excel?