0Purpose:
This function calculates difference between two dates. it can show the result in days, months and years.
Syntax:
=datedif(start_date,end_date,"unit")
| start_date | This is earliest of the two dates |
| end_date | This is the most recent of the two dates |
| Unit | The type of information that you want returned |
| Unit | Returns |
| "Y" | The number of complete years in the period. |
| "M" | The number of complete months in the period. |
| "D" | The number of days in the period. |
| "MD" | The difference between the days in start_date and end_date. The months and years of the dates are ignored. |
| "YM" | The difference between the months in start_date and end_date. The days and years of the dates are ignored |
| "YD" | The difference between the days of start_date and end_date. The years of the dates are ignored. |
Example
| Start_date | End_date | Unit | Result | Notes |
| 21-Aug-15 | 6-Jul-17 | Y | 1 | Difference in complete years |
| 21-Aug-15 | 6-Jul-17 | M | 22 | Difference in complete months |
| 21-Aug-15 | 6-Jul-17 | D | 685 | Difference in days |
| 21-Aug-15 | 6-Jul-17 | MD | 15 | Difference in days, ignoring months and years |
| 21-Aug-15 | 6-Jul-17 | YM | 10 | Difference in months, ignoring days and years |
| 21-Aug-15 | 6-Jul-17 | YD | 320 | Difference in days, ignoring years |
Remarks:
- Dates are stored as sequential serial numbers so they can be used in calculations. By default, December 31, 1899 is serial number 1, and January 1, 2008 is serial number 39448 because it is 39,448 days after January 1, 1900.
- The DATEDIF function is useful in formulas where you need to calculate an age.
