Let's say you want to find out how many days there are between two project dates or find out how many shopping days there are before a holiday. To count the days before a date, you can use the TODAY function.

Example

The example may be easier to understand if you copy it to a blank worksheet.

How to copy an example

  1. Create a blank workbook or worksheet.
  2. Select the example in the Help topic.

    Note Do not select the row or column headers.

    selecting an example from helpSelecting an example from Help

  3. Press CTRL+C.
  4. In the worksheet, select cell A1, and press CTRL+V.
  5. To switch between viewing the results and viewing the formulas that return the results, press CTRL+` (grave accent), or on the Formulas tab, in the Formula Auditing group, click the Show Formulas button.
1
2
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A
Date
1/1/2008
6/1/2007
Formula Description (Result)
=A2-TODAY() Number of days from current date to end of (Varies)
=A2-A3 Number of days from 6/1/2007 until the end of (214)

Notes

Function details