TIME

See Also

Returns the decimal number for a particular time. The decimal number returned by TIME is a value ranging from 0 (zero) to 0.99999999, representing the times from 0:00:00 (12:00:00 AM) to 23:59:59 (11:59:59 P.M.).

Syntax

TIME(hour,minute,second)

Hour is a number from 0 (zero) to 32767 representing the hour. Any value greater than 23 will be divided by 24 and the remainder will be treated as the hour value. For example, TIME(27,0,0) = TIME(3,0,0) = .125 or 3:00 AM.

Minute is a number from 0 to 32767 representing the minute. Any value greater than 59 will be converted to hours and minutes. For example, TIME(0,750,0) = TIME(12,30,0) = .520833 or 12:30 PM.

Second is a number from 0 to 32767 representing the second. Any value greater than 59 will be converted to hours, minutes, and seconds. For example, TIME(0,0,2000) = TIME(0,33,22) = .023148 or 12:33:20 AM

Remark

Time values are a portion of a date value and represented by a decimal number (for example, 12:00 PM is represented as 0.5 because it is half of a day).

Example

The example may be easier to understand if you copy it to a blank spreadsheet.

How?

Create a blank spreadsheet.
Select the example in the Help topic.

Selecting an example from Help
Press CTRL+C.
In the spreadsheet, select cell A1, and press CTRL+V.
To switch between viewing the formula that returns the result and the result in the cell, select the cell and press F2 and then ENTER, or click Commands and Options on the spreadsheet toolbar, click the Formula tab, and look in the Formula in active cell (active cell) box.

Hour	Minute	Second
12	0	0
16	48	10
Formula	Description (Result)
=TIME(A2,B2,C2)	Decimal representation of the time of day, for the first time above (0.5)
=TIME(A3,B3,C3)	Decimal representation of the time of day, for the second time above (0.700115741)

Note To view the time as a decimal number, select the cell and click Commands and Options on the toolbar. Click the Format tab and then select the General number format.