| Syntax |
| =NOW() |
| Purpose / Description |
| Returns the serial date and time number for the current date and time as per the system clock. |
| Arguments |
| Name |
Type |
Description |
| no arguments |
No arguments are required because the return value is derived from the system clock, however, the parentheses that surround arguments are still required in functions without arguments, otherwise Excel will attempt to interpret them as defined names. |
| Return Values |
| Type |
Specific Value |
Description |
| number |
|
A decimal value in which the integer portion represents the current system date and the decimal portion represents the time of day as per the system clock. |
| Notes / Comments / Advice / Warnings |
| Note: |
When the NOW function is placed in a cell, and in some cases when it is nested within another function, the number format of the cell is changed to a date and time format, based on the user's locale settings for short date and short time. |
| Note: |
The value returned by the 1904 date system is 1462 lower than for the standard, accounting for the difference in years and the assignment of the zero date. |
| Advice: |
If seeking the system date only, use TODAY in preference to NOW. |
| Warning: |
This function is volatile. If only some heading information or a series of values for validation depend upon it, the impact on calculation performance is minimal, however, if a large number of formulas trace their dependency back to a formula using NOW the impact can be significant. See the Ready Reference article: Volatile Functions and Expressions for more information on volatility. |
| Examples: |
Open / download sample workbook: TODAY, NOW.xlsx |
| |