Shannon asks:

I need a formula that if I enter a start date in field B1 such as 6/8/11 it will give me the date ranges for 7 days in fields B3-B14. Does that make sense?

Basically I want a formula that will tell me when a client is admitted to services on 6/8/11, their week 1 is 6/8/11 to 6/15/11; week 2 is 6/16/11-6/22/11 etc through 12 weeks.

I want the initial date in B1 to be the only value that I have to change to produce these results. Is that possible?

Answer:

I could create a big formula in cell range B3:B14 but instead I going to simplify formulas and use three columns. Then people can more easily understand and customize the formulas.

The formulas are dynamic meaning when a date is entered in cell B1 cell range B3:D14 is instantly recalculated.

Formula in cell B3:

Formula in cell B4:

Copy (Ctrl + c) cell B4 and paste (Ctrl + v) to cell range B5:B14.

Formula in cell C3:

Copy (Ctrl + c) cell C3 and paste (Ctrl + v) to cell range C4:C14.

Formula in cell D3:

Copy (Ctrl + c) cell D3 and paste (Ctrl + v) to cell range D4:D14.

Download excel example file

date ranges 7 days.xls
(Excel 97-2003 Workbook *.xls)

Explaining formula in cell C3

=$B$1+ROW(A1)*7

Step 1 - Create an absolute cell reference to start date

=$B$1+ROW(A1)*7

$B$1 is an absolute cell reference. To create a reference to another cell, double click cell C3. Type = and left click cell B1. The formula becomes =B1.

Let´s convert the cell reference to an absolute cell reference. Absolute cell references are cell references that doesn´t adjust and change when copied. Press F4.

The formula becomes: =$B$1.

Step 2 - Make dates with interval

=$B$1+ROW(A1)*7

ROW(A1). A1 is a relative cell reference to cell A1. A relative cell reference is a cell reference that adjusts and change when copied.  ROW(A1) returns the row number of a reference. ROW(A1) returns 1.

ROW(A1)*7 becomes

1*7

and returns 7.

Step 3 - All together

=$B$1+ROW(A1)*7

becomes

40702+1*7

and returns 40709. Formatted as a date, cell C3 returns 6/15/11.

Cell C4 becomes  =$B$1+ROW(A2)*7

=40702+2*7

becomes

=40702+14

and returns 40716. Formatted as a date, cell C4 returns 6/22/11.

Functions in this article:

ROW(reference) returns the rownumber of a reference

TEXT(value, format_text)
Converts a value to text in a specific number format

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