2.103 FAQ-993 When I paste my Excel time data into Origin, Origin displays 12/30/1899

Excel-Time-Pasted-Origin-12-30-1899

Last Update: 10/13/2020

When you copy cells containing time data from MS Excel and paste them into Origin, you will likely see that the data display in Origin as "12/30/1899". This is Excel's "base date". The pasted time data remains but the trick is to get Origin to display it:

1. Click on the time column header in Origin, then right-click and select Properties.
2. Change Format to Numeric and click OK. You should now see your time data displayed as a Julian Day number, with an integer part and a decimal part. We need to remove the integer part (which is date) and keep the decimal part (which is time).



3. Double-click on the F(x)= cell directly above your time data column and enter the following, then click out of the cell:

   frac(N)

   ... where N is the column Short Name. The cells in your time column should now display the fractional portion of the previously-displayed Julian Day value.
4. Select the time column again, right-click and select Properties.
5. This time, change Format to Time and set Display to your desired time format (e.g. HH:mm:ss).
6. Click OK and you should now see your time data displayed properly.



If you import your MS Excel data -- as opposed to copying and pasting -- into Origin, your time data should display properly in the worksheet without performing the above steps.

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Keywords:Microsoft Office, base time, Julian Day, convert, date, date-time