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How to insert colon between numbers to make them as time format automatically in Excel?

When you insert time format in worksheet cells, have you ever be annoyed with typing the colons each time? In this article, I will talk about how to insert colon when you entering numbers to make them as time format automatically in Excel.

Insert colon between numbers to make them as time format with formulas

Auto make the numbers to time format when you entering them with VBA code


arrow blue right bubble Insert colon between numbers to make them as time format with formulas

Supposing, you have a list of numbers, to insert the colons and make them as time format, the following formulas can do you a favor.

If the numbers are always 3 or 4 digits you can use this formula:

=TIME(LEFT(A1,LEN(A1)-2),RIGHT(A1,2),0), then drag the fill handle down to the cells that you want to contain this formula, and you will get the following result as you need:

doc insert colon to numbers 1

If the numbers are 5 or 6 digits, please apply this formula:

=(INT(A1/10000)&":"&INT(MOD(A1,10000)/100)&":"&MOD(A1,100))+0, and drag the fill handle down to the cells that you want to contain this formula, and you will get number sequence as following screenshot shown:

doc insert colon to numbers 2

Then you should format the numbers as time format by clicking Time from the General drop down list under the Home tab, see screenshot:

doc insert colon to numbers 3


arrow blue right bubble Auto make the numbers to time format when you entering them with VBA code

The following VBA code also can help you to auto convert the numbers to time format when you entering them, please do as this:

1. Go the worksheet that you want to insert colons into numbers automatically.

2. Right click the sheet tab, and select View Code from the context menu, in the popped out Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window, please copy and paste the following code into the blank Module window, see screenshot:

VBA code: Auto make the numbers to time format:

Private Sub Worksheet_Change(ByVal Target As Excel.Range)
'Updateby Extendoffice 20160606
    Dim xStr As String
    Dim xVal As String
    On Error GoTo EndMacro
    If Application.Intersect(Target, Range("A1:A20")) Is Nothing Then Exit Sub
    If Target.Count > 1 Then Exit Sub
    If Target.Value = "" Then Exit Sub
    Application.EnableEvents = False
    With Target
        If Not .HasFormula Then
            xVal = .Value
            Select Case Len(xVal)
                Case 1 ' e.g., 1 = 00:01 AM
                    xStr = "00:0" & xVal
                Case 2 ' e.g., 12 = 00:12 AM
                    xStr = "00:" & xVal
                Case 3 ' e.g., 735 = 7:35 AM
                    xStr = Left(xVal, 1) & ":" & Right(xVal, 2)
                Case 4 ' e.g., 1234 = 12:34
                    xStr = Left(xVal, 2) & ":" & Right(xVal, 2)
                Case 5 ' e.g., 12345 = 1:23:45 NOT 12:03:45
                    xStr = Left(xVal, 1) & ":" & Mid(xVal, 2, 2) & ":" & Right(xVal, 2)
                Case 6 ' e.g., 123456 = 12:34:56
                    xStr = Left(xVal, 2) & ":" & Mid(xVal, 3, 2) & ":" & Right(xVal, 2)
                Case Else
                    Err.Raise 0
            End Select
            .Value = TimeValue(xStr)
        End If
    End With
    Application.EnableEvents = True
    Exit Sub
EndMacro:
    MsgBox "You did not enter a valid time"
    Application.EnableEvents = True
End Sub

doc insert colon to numbers 4

Note: In the above code, A1:A20 is the cells that you want to insert time later, and you can change the cell reference to your need.

3. And now, when you enter the numbers such as 102319 in cell range A1:A20, and then press Enter key, the number will be formatted as 10:23:19 AM time format automatically as you need.

doc insert colon to numbers 5

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Comments (7)
Rated 4.5 out of 5 · 1 ratings
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
I know this is a very old post, but I am experiencing an error when I try to enter time between 00001 and 005959. It's either converting it to 1AM or throwing an error. Any ideas?
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
DZIEKUJE ZA WYJAŚNIENIE, CZY KTOŚ MOŻE PODPOWIEDZIEC CZY DA SIE TO PRZEROBIC TAK ŻEBY DZIŁAŁO NA 2 LUB WIECEJ KOLUMNACH? CHODZI O WPROWADZENIE STARTU PRACY W KOLUMNIE C A ZAKONCZENIA W KOLUMNIE D, WYNIK WYSWIETLI SIE W KOLUMNIE E
Rated 4.5 out of 5
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
does anyone know how to make this macro run on google sheets please?
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
In an earlier version of windows I was able to change the colon time delimiter to another character (usually an asterisk) to make it easier and faster to enter lots of time data. Is there still a way to do this or has it been "new & improved" into oblivion?
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
如果只要時跟分以及24小時制,請問可以怎麼改?
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi, kyra,
你可以嘗試使用下面的vba來實現: (只顯示時和分)

Private Sub Worksheet_Change(ByVal Target As Excel.Range)
Dim xStr As String
Dim xVal As String
On Error GoTo EndMacro
If Application.Intersect(Target, Range("A1:A20")) Is Nothing Then Exit Sub
If Target.Count > 1 Then Exit Sub
If Target.Value = "" Then Exit Sub
Application.EnableEvents = False
With Target
If Not .HasFormula Then
xVal = .Value
Select Case Len(xVal)
Case 1 ' e.g., 1 = 00:01 AM
xStr = "00:0" & xVal
Case 2 ' e.g., 12 = 00:12 AM
xStr = "00:" & xVal
Case 3 ' e.g., 735 = 7:35 AM
xStr = Left(xVal, 1) & ":" & Right(xVal, 2)
Case 4 ' e.g., 1234 = 12:34
xStr = Left(xVal, 2) & ":" & Right(xVal, 2)
Case 5 ' e.g., 12345 = 1:23:45 NOT 12:03:45
xStr = Left(xVal, 1) & ":" & Mid(xVal, 2, 2) & ":" & Right(xVal, 2)
Case 6 ' e.g., 123456 = 12:34:56
xStr = Left(xVal, 2) & ":" & Mid(xVal, 3, 2) & ":" & Right(xVal, 2)
Case Else
Err.Raise 0
End Select
.Value = Format(TimeValue(xStr), "Short Time")
End If
End With
Application.EnableEvents = True
Exit Sub
EndMacro:
MsgBox "You did not enter a valid time"
Application.EnableEvents = True
End Sub
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Thank you. Very well illustrated.
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