Creating a day by day countdown - Excel 2007

**enlight85** · 06-12-2012, 05:34 AM

Hi guys,

Previous assistance has been fantastic! Just wanted some pointers on how to create a countdown (in days - not hours).

In field A2 I have the date I receive a piece of work lets say today (12/06/2012), then B2 has the 40 day deadline for my piece of work (22/07/2012) - this is automatically generated.

I would like C2 to show how many days I have left to complete the task, just for an additional help. Once the countdown reaches 0, I would want it to stop.

Is this possible and if so, what would be the solution?

Also, any reading you might suggest on excel for beginners would be very helpful too! Some of the basic formula creation is still eluding me...

Thanks guys.

**npamcpp** · 06-12-2012, 05:40 AM

try

=IF(B2>A2,B2-A2,"timed out")

or

=IF(B2>A2,B2-A2,"")

**enlight85** · 06-12-2012, 05:45 AM

Thanks for the reply.

Those two seem to fill the cell C2 with the number 40 but if I change the date in A2, it doesn't have any effect on C2 (C2 will only display 40), if that makes sense. I need it to count down with every day it gets closer to the deadline.

**npamcpp** · 06-12-2012, 05:57 AM

how about

=IF(B2>A2,B2-A2,"timed out")

**enlight85** · 06-12-2012, 06:51 AM

Hi again,

Your latest suggestion, =IF(B2>A2,B2-A2,"timed out") seems to be the same as =IF(B2>A2,B2-A2,"timed out"), which is from your first post. Is that what you meant to post?

Again, this only shows 40 days left, regardless of the date I enter.

**npamcpp** · 06-12-2012, 08:05 AM

Where exactly to you enter the date?

A2 = 12-june-2012
B2 = 22-Jul-2012
C2 =IF(B2>A2,B2-A2,"timed out")

If I change A2 to 13-June 2012, C2 shows 39, not 40.

What are your expectations? Maybe it's time to post a sample file.

**enlight85** · 06-12-2012, 08:52 AM

What you said just happened on your document is exactly what I want it to do. Each day.. to count down from 40 to 0. Nothing more than that.

It sounds like your direction is sound... I just don't know why mine won't follow suit. I have attached the document for you to look at.

If there is anything else I can add to help, please let me know. I appreciate your help with this so far!

**npamcpp** · 06-12-2012, 08:58 AM

You conveniently forgot to mention that the date in column B is calculated by adding 40 days to the date in column A. Hence, the difference between the dates in column A and B will always be 40 days, since if you change the date in column A, the date in column B will adjust to be the date in column A plus 40 days.