Formatting Issues

Fix Excel DATEDIF Showing a Date Instead of Days in WPS Office Spreadsheets

Huma Ashraf Ch Nov 13, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs the DATEDIF formula result to display as a plain number of days instead of a date such as 02-03-1900.

Fix Excel DATEDIF Showing a Date Instead of Days in WPS Office Spreadsheets

Product: WPS Office Spreadsheets
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: The user is using the DATEDIF formula to calculate the number of days between two dates and wants the result displayed as a day count.
Observed behavior: The DATEDIF cell displays a date such as 02-03-1900, even though the formula calculates the correct number of days, because the cell is formatted as a date.

Before you start

Select the cell that contains DATEDIF and check the Number Format box on the Home tab. If it shows Date, the day count is being displayed as a calendar date.

Solution 1Recommended

Change the DATEDIF result cell to General or Number format

Use this when the DATEDIF result shows a date and you want the plain number of days to appear.

WPS Office Spreadsheets and Excel store dates as sequential numbers. Assigning a date format to a numeric day count makes the same value appear as a calendar date, so switching to General or Number restores the numeric display.

Select the DATEDIF formula cell

Click the cell containing the DATEDIF formula, such as =DATEDIF(A2,B2,"d").

Open the Number Format menu

On the Home tab, go to the Number group and open the Number Format drop-down menu.

Choose General or Number

Select General or Number. The cell immediately displays the number of days instead of a date.

Change the DATEDIF result cell to General or Number format

Result displays as days: The cell now shows the day count, such as 12, instead of a date like 01-12-1900.

Solution 2

Use a direct date subtraction formula instead

Use this if you prefer a simpler day-count formula and want to avoid DATEDIF formatting confusion.

WPS Office Spreadsheets

Fix the DATEDIF Date Display in WPS Office Spreadsheets

Change the result cell's number format to General or Number in WPS Office Spreadsheets so DATEDIF displays the calculated day count instead of a date.

1. Open WPS Office Spreadsheets: Launch WPS Office and open the workbook that contains the DATEDIF formula.
2. Select the DATEDIF result cell: Click the cell that is showing a date instead of a day count.
3. Open Number Format: Go to Home > Number and open the Number Format drop-down menu.
4. Choose General or Number: Select General or Number. The cell immediately changes from a date to the number of days.

Fix DATEDIF date display without recreating formulasPreserve Excel .xlsx compatibility for date calculationsFree WPS Office Spreadsheets with a familiar ribbon interfaceAccurate day counts with General and Number formatting options

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does DATEDIF show 02-03-1900 instead of the number of days?

Because the cell is formatted as a Date. WPS Office and Excel store dates as sequential serial numbers, so a numeric result like 12 is displayed as a calendar date. Set the cell format to General or Number to show the day count.

How do I change a DATEDIF cell back to General format?

Select the result cell, go to Home > Number, open the Number Format drop-down, and choose General or Number. The displayed value updates immediately.

Does WPS Office support DATEDIF the same way Excel does?

Yes. WPS Office Spreadsheets supports DATEDIF and the same date serial number system, so the formula behavior and formatting solution are the same as in Excel.

Can I use =B2-A2 instead of DATEDIF for days?

Yes. If A2 and B2 are valid dates, =B2-A2 returns the number of days between them. Keep the result cell in General or Number format to avoid a date display.

Will changing the number format delete the DATEDIF formula?

No. Changing the number format only changes how the result is displayed. The DATEDIF formula remains intact.

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