Custom Formatting and Calculation for Time in Excel

Time values exceeding 24 hours

 The serial value for time, as explained at the beginning
of the chapter, is between 0 and 1.

 The time format for a full 24-hour day is hh:mm:ss.

 Example: the time 14 hours and 56 minutes is displayed as 14:56:00.

 Problem

The default time format does not allow a time value to exceed 24 hours. In a cell, type a value larger than 24 hours, such as 28:56:00. The result is 04:56:00 (the number minus 24 hours).

 Solution

Change the format of the cell, and place brackets around the hour. The format is displayed as [hh]:mm:ss, and the result is displayed as  28:56:00

Time format table

 

H
Hour. The number of hours, without 0 if the
number islowerthan10.
hh
Hour. The number of hours, including 0 if
the number islowerthan10.
M
Minute. 
The number of minutes, without 0 if the number is lower than10.
mm
Minute.
The number of minutes, including 0 if the number is lower than10.
S
Second.  One digit
per second,
without
0 if
the number of seconds is
lower than10.
SS
Second. The number of seconds, including 0 if the number is lower than10.
 
[. ]
Brackets around the hour, to display a time value that exceeds 24hours


Converting hours to decimals

Use the formulas HOUR and MINUTE to convert a time value to a decimal.