Find the earliest date in a range of dates?

I am trying to use a function that will find the earliest date in a wide
range of dates. I have tried using =MIN(A1:A455) but it returns 0-Jan-00.
There are no spaces in the range.

I bet you have a 0 in that range.

It could be hidden by formatting (or conditional formatting), but it's there.

If you select A1:A455 and edit|find
search for 0
(Match entire cell contents)
you may find it
(or search for 0-jan-00 if it may be formatted as a date)

If it turns out you have to leave the 0's in your data, you can use a different
formula to ignore them:

=MIN(IF(a1:a455>0,a1:a455))

This is an array formula. Hit ctrl-shift-enter instead of enter. If you do it
correctly, excel will wrap curly brackets {} around your formula. (don't type
them yourself.)

Adjust the range to match--but you can't use the whole column.

====
But I'd do my best to clean the data.

Rachel Williams wrote:
>
> I am trying to use a function that will find the earliest date in a wide
> range of dates. I have tried using =MIN(A1:A455) but it returns 0-Jan-00.
> There are no spaces in the range.

--

Dave Peterson

Ps. That 0 could be on a hidden row, too???

Dave Peterson wrote:
>
> I bet you have a 0 in that range.
>
> It could be hidden by formatting (or conditional formatting), but it's there.
>
> If you select A1:A455 and edit|find
> search for 0
> (Match entire cell contents)
> you may find it
> (or search for 0-jan-00 if it may be formatted as a date)
>
> If it turns out you have to leave the 0's in your data, you can use a different
> formula to ignore them:
>
> =MIN(IF(a1:a455>0,a1:a455))
>
> This is an array formula. Hit ctrl-shift-enter instead of enter. If you do it
> correctly, excel will wrap curly brackets {} around your formula. (don't type
> them yourself.)
>
> Adjust the range to match--but you can't use the whole column.
>
> ====
> But I'd do my best to clean the data.
>
> Rachel Williams wrote:
> >
> > I am trying to use a function that will find the earliest date in a wide
> > range of dates. I have tried using =MIN(A1:A455) but it returns 0-Jan-00.
> > There are no spaces in the range.
>
> --
>
> Dave Peterson

--

Dave Peterson