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How to extract date from text strings in Excel?

Author: Xiaoyang Last Modified: 2024-09-25

In Excel worksheet, how could you extract the date from text strings as following screenshot shown? This article, I will talk about a useful formula to solve it.

Extract date from text strings with array formula in worksheet

Only dates extracted from each cell

Extract date from text strings with array formula in worksheet

To extract only date from a list of text strings, the following array formula can help you, please do as this:

1. Enter the below formula into a blank cell where you want to get the result, and then press Enter keys together, and only the date is extracted as following screenshot shown:

=MID(A2,MIN(IFERROR(MIN(FIND({0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9},A2&"0123456789",1)),LEN(A2)+1)),LOOKUP(1,0*MID(A2,ROW(INDIRECT("1:"&LEN(A2))),1),ROW(INDIRECT("1:"&LEN(A2)))) + 1 - MIN(IFERROR(MIN(FIND({0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9},A2&"0123456789",1)),LEN(A2)+1)))

Formula entered in a cell

2. Then select the formula cell, and drag the fill handle down to the cells you want to apply this formula, and you will get the results as you need, see screenshot:

Formula populated to the column

  • Notes:
  • In the above formula, A2 is the cell which contains the date you want to extract;
  • If the cell contains other numbers, this formula will not work correctly；
  • The formula cannot correctly extract date while there is more than one date in the text string.

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Kutools' Convert to Date interface and use case example

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