In this article, I will show you how to get the current time in Google Sheets with just a few clicks. Follow the steps below and you will be able to easily display the current time in your spreadsheets.
Getting the Current Time in Google Sheets
To demonstrate how to get the current time, we have created a sample sheet. You can access it by clicking on this link and follow the steps right at your home.
We can use the NOW function in Google Sheets to get the current time. In the example below, we will illustrate the usage of this useful function.
Step 1: Click on an Empty Cell in Your Sheet
Click on any empty cell in your sheet. This is where the current time will be displayed. In our example, we selected cell B3.
Step 2: Enter the Formula: =TEXT(NOW(),”HH:MM:SS”)
In the empty cell, enter the NOW formula in the following format:
=TEXT(NOW(),"HH:MM:SS")Here’s an explanation of the formula:
=TEXT: This function converts a number to text. By default, the current time is displayed as a number.NOW: This function returns the current time."HH:MM:SS": These tags are entered to specify the time data to display. They are enclosed in double quotes.
For example, if you want to display the current date with the day, month, and year, the tags format is as follows:
"YYYY-M-D" (Year - Month - Day)If you want to display the current time with seconds, minutes, and hours, the tags format is as follows:
"HH:MM:SS" (Hours:Minutes:Seconds)You can modify these tags according to your preferences. For example, you may choose to enter “HH:MM” to only display the hours and minutes.
In the example below, we used the formula to display both the current date and time by entering:
=TEXT(NOW(),"YYYY-M-D | HH:MM:SS")The tags are enclosed in double quotes, and we used the separator symbol (|) for formatting, but this is optional.
Step 3: Press Enter and the Current Time will be Displayed
Once you enter the formula, press the Enter key, and the current time will be displayed in the cell.
As you can see below, both the current date and time are displayed.
Update Settings to Ensure the Current Timestamp is Refreshed
Please note that the NOW function will only update the current time when the document is modified. For those who don’t make frequent modifications, this may be a problem as the timestamp may not accurately reflect the latest time. This can be resolved by modifying the following settings:
Step 1: Click on “File”, then “Settings”
In the File menu, select File, then from the displayed menu, click on Settings.
Step 2: Select the “Calculation” tab and expand the “Recalculation” dropdown menu
In the spreadsheet settings dialog box, click on the Calculation tab. In the Calculation section, expand the Recalculation dropdown menu and choose the desired update interval for the current time:
- On Every Change: Updates the current time on every sheet modification.
- On Every Change and Every Minute: Updates the current time on every sheet modification AND every minute.
- On Every Change and Every Hour: Updates the current time on every sheet modification AND every hour.
Simply click on the option to select it.
Step 3: Click on “Save Settings” to Apply the Changes
Select the Save Settings button, and the changes will be applied. The current time will update according to your chosen preferences.
Now that you know how to get the current time in Google Sheets, take advantage of this handy feature to track time in your spreadsheets!
To learn more about Google Sheets features and other helpful tips, visit Crawlan.com.
