Parsing an ISO8601 date/time (including TimeZone) in Excel

How to Parse an ISO8601 Date/Time (Including TimeZone) in Excel

Are you struggling to parse an ISO8601 date/time format with an included timezone in Excel? 📅🕰️ Don't worry, we've got you covered! In this guide, we will walk you through the common issues you may face and provide easy solutions to help you successfully parse these complex date/time formats. 💪

The Problem 😫

As mentioned in the provided context, Excel XP does not have a built-in routine to parse ISO8601 date/time formats with timezones. This means you'll need to create a custom VBA function to handle the parsing for you.

Step-by-Step Solution 🛠️

Let's break down the process into easy steps to make it more manageable:

Step 1: Create a New VBA Module 📝

To get started, open your Excel workbook and press Alt + F11 to open the Visual Basic Editor. In the Project Explorer, right-click on your workbook name and select Insert > Module. This will create a new module where we will write our custom VBA function.

Step 2: Write the Custom VBA Function 🖊️

Inside the newly created module, paste the following VBA function:

Function ParseISODate(ByVal isoDate As String) As Date
    Dim dateParts() As String
    Dim formattedDate As String
    Dim timeZone As String
    
    If InStr(1, isoDate, "T") > 0 Then
        dateParts = Split(isoDate, "T")
        formattedDate = dateParts(0) & " " & Left(dateParts(1), 8)
    Else
        formattedDate = isoDate
    End If
    
    If InStr(1, isoDate, "+") > 0 Then
        timeZone = Right(isoDate, Len(isoDate) - InStr(1, isoDate, "+") + 1)
    ElseIf InStr(1, isoDate, "-") > 0 Then
        timeZone = Right(isoDate, Len(isoDate) - InStr(1, isoDate, "-") + 1)
    Else
        timeZone = "+00:00" ' Default to UTC if no timezone is specified
    End If
    
    ParseISODate = CDate(formattedDate) + TimeSerial(Left(timeZone, 2), Right(timeZone, 2), 0)
End Function

Step 3: Apply the Custom VBA Function to Your Data 🔄

In your Excel worksheet, enter the ISO8601 date/time value you want to parse in a cell. For example, let's use cell A1.

To apply the custom VBA function, enter the following formula in another cell, such as B1:

=ParseISODate(A1)

The parsed date/time value will be displayed in cell B1!

Get Parsing and Simplify Your Workflow! 🚀

Parsing ISO8601 date/time formats with timezones in Excel might seem like a daunting task at first, but with the help of this step-by-step guide, you can now tackle it like a pro! 🎉

So go ahead, try out the custom VBA function we provided and make your date parsing dreams come true! Let us know in the comments below if you found this guide helpful or if you have any further questions. 💬✨

Keep exploring, keep learning! 🌈🔍