Why won't Excel sort my dates?+
The dates are probably stored as text. Excel sorts real dates by their underlying serial number, but text dates sort character by character, so 01/12/2026 can appear before 02/01/2026. Convert the column with Data → Text to Columns, choosing Date and the correct DMY or MDY order.
What does 09/11/2026 mean?+
It depends on the region. In the UK, Australia and most of Europe it means 9 November 2026. In the US it means 11 September 2026. When both numbers are 12 or less, no tool can know for certain — this fixer flags the ambiguity and lets you choose the intended order.
How do I convert text dates to real dates in Excel?+
Select the column, open Data → Text to Columns, choose Delimited → Next → Next, set Column data format to Date, pick DMY or MDY, then Finish. For a formula, =DATE(2026,11,9) is unambiguous in every locale. =DATEVALUE(A2) can work when A2 is already in your regional format.
What is an Excel serial number?+
Excel stores dates as whole numbers: 1 January 1900 is serial 1, and each day adds 1. A date showing as 45678 is a real date formatted as a number. Apply a Date format with Ctrl+1 instead of deleting or retyping the value.
Does the date fixer change impossible dates?+
No. Dates such as 31/02/2026 are flagged as invalid rather than silently rolled forward to March. That matters in assignments, where a hidden rollover can change the result.
Is my data uploaded?+
No. The parser runs entirely in your browser. Dates pasted into the tool are never transmitted, logged or stored, so it is safe for confidential schedules and payroll extracts.
Can it handle timestamps?+
Yes. It reads the date part and ignores the time, which is useful when a column contains 2026-11-09 14:30. In Excel, use =INT(A2) to strip the time from a date-time serial before sorting.
Can I download the converted dates?+
Yes. Copy the ISO values for a sortable column, or download a CSV with the original value, detected order, converted date, Excel serial number, status and note.
