How to sort by dates excel?
Here are the steps to convert the entire column to date format values.
Add a column to the right of the date column. Right click the new column and select Format. Set the format to date.
Highlight the entire old date column and copy it. Highlight the top cell of the new column and select Paste Special, and only paste values.
You can then remove the old column.
The hashes are just because your column width is not enough to display the "number".
About the sorting, you should review how you system region and language is configured. For the US region, Excel date input should be "5/17/2012" not "17/05/2012" (this 17-may-12).
Regards
- Select the whole column
- Right click -> Format cells... -> Number -> Category: Date -> OK
- Data -> Text to Columns -> select Delimited -> Next -> in your case selection of Delimiters doesn't matter -> Next -> select Date: DMY -> Finish
Now you should be able to sort by this column either Oldest to Newest or Newest to Oldest