How to Add Days to a Date in Smartsheet

Smartsheet is a popular work management software. It offers different options to help you plan and manage your projects, tasks, calendars, etc. Keeping track of the dates represents an important factor in every management software. If you want to learn how to add days to a date in Smartsheet, make sure to keep on reading.

How to Add Days to a Date?

If you want to keep your projects in order and select the due date in Smartsheet, you can do it by applying different formulas.

If you have a start date for your project on, say, June 1, 2012, and you have to finish it by the end of the month, what you can do is apply this formula: =[Start Date]@row + 29 in the due date column.

You can type it out, but you can also use this option:

1. Type “=” in the due date column, right next to the start date.
   
2. Select the start date.
3. Put a plus sign (+) next to the start date.
   
4. Put the number of days you want to add to the date (in this case, 29).
   
5. Press “Enter.”
   

That’s it! You’ve successfully added days to a date. The numbers you put in are treated as days by default.

Adding the Same Number of Days to Each Start Date

What happens when you have different start dates for your project, but you have 30 days to complete each one? If you’d like to enter due dates with one simple formula, follow these steps:

1. Type “=” in the due date column, right next to the start date.
   
2. Select the start date.
3. Put a plus sign (+) next to the start date.
   
4. Put the number of days you want to add to the date (in this case, 30).
   
5. Press “Enter.”
   
6. Select that cell.
7. You will see a small square at the bottom-right corner of the cell. Press the square and start moving it downwards/upwards.
   
8. Now, your formula will be automatically transferred to all the cells you selected.
   

Adding a Different Number of Days to Each Start Date

It will often happen that different projects need to be completed in different timeframes. In this case, it’s best to use the “Duration” column. Here, you can specify the number of days it should take you for each project. Then, you can use a simple formula to calculate the due date:

1. Type “=” in the due date column, right next to the start date.
2. Select the start date.
3. Put a plus sign next to the start date.
4. Select the duration from the duration column.
5. Press “Enter.”
6. You will see the due date for that project. If you wish to apply this formula to your other projects, use the small square at the bottom-right of the cell to move it downwards/upwards.

What Happens When You Change the Start Date?

You’ve decided to start your project a little bit later, but you’re not sure if this will affect your formula. Don’t worry! Once you change your start date, Smartsheet will automatically adjust the end date. If the duration is still the same, it will simply count the days starting from the date you entered.

What Happens When You Change the Duration?

If your project needs to be completed in a shorter period, or you want to extend the period until it’s completed, you can do so in two ways. You can change the number in the duration column, or change the number in the formula, depending on how you originally created the formula.

If you specified the number of days in the formula, you can just delete it and insert the new number.

If you used the “Duration” column, you can change the number there, hit “Enter,” and the formula will automatically update on its own, showing you your new due date.

Subtracting the Days From a Date

If you need to subtract days from a specific date, you can use a simple formula:

1. Type “=” in the column where you would like to get the result.
   
2. Select the date.
3. Put a minus sign (-) next to the date.
   
4. Enter the number of days you would like to subtract.
   
5. Press “Enter.”

Enabling Dependencies

This function represents a means of automatically calculating dates when values for the duration (how long something will last) and predecessors (what needs to happen before something else happens) change. If you decide to enable this, here are some of the features you could use:

1. If you enter the start and due date, the duration column will be calculated automatically.
2. You can enter the number of working days per week, holidays, vacation days, etc. This will help to calculate the due dates of your projects.
3. If you change the start and/or due date, the appropriate column will automatically adjust.

Here is how you can enable dependencies:

1. Select the column you want and tap “Edit Project Settings.”
   
2. Select the “Dependencies Enabled” checkbox.
   
3. You will see new options appear.
4. Select the columns that should be used as the “Predecessor column” and the “Duration Column.” If you don’t have these columns, Smartsheet will insert them automatically.
   

It’s important to note that you can’t place formulas into columns once you’ve enabled this function.

How to Change the Date Format in Smartsheet?

The date format shown in Smartsheet is based on the regional preferences you’ve specified when creating your account. For example, if your “Regional Preferences” is set to “English (United States),” dates will be displayed in the month/day/year format. You can change this by following these steps:

1. Open Smartsheet.
2. Go to the “Account” icon.
   
3. Tap “Personal Settings.”
   
4. Tap “Settings.”
   
5. Choose an option under “Regional Preferences.”
   
6. When you select an option, you will see the preview of the date and number formats, so you can choose what you want before saving the changes.
7. Once you choose an option, tap “Save.”
   
8. The new setting will be applied to your sheets.

Smartsheet Keyboard Shortcuts

Smartsheet offers a variety of keyboard shortcuts you can use for dates. This will allow you to work faster and save time while working in sheets. You can find some of the shortcuts below:

• t – Inserting today’s date.
• +n – Entering a date in days from today. For example, if today is 06/09/2021, by pressing +3, you will enter 06/12/2021.
• -n – Entering a date in days before today. For example, if today is 06/09/2021, by pressing -5, you will enter 06/04/2021.
• sun, mon, tue, wed, thurs, fri, sat – Entering a date which matches the specific day in the current week. For example, if today’s date is 06/09/2021, by typing “sun”, you will enter 06/06/2021.
• yes – Yesterday’s date.
• tom – Tomorrow’s date.
• last week – Current date -7 days.
• next week – Current date +7 days.

It’s important to keep in mind that these abbreviations only work for the English language.

Smartsheet: Explained!

Now you’ve learned how to add days to a date in Smartsheet, and have more information about the software itself. This is a reliable, efficient, time-saving software that will help you ensure all of your projects are completed on time. So, if you’re already using Smartsheet or thinking about using it, you will definitely learn more about it by reading this guide.

Have you ever used Smartsheet? Tell us in the comment section below!