19 Jul Time Duration Calculator
What is a Time Duration Calculator?
Calculate time between two time inputs.
A time duration calculator is a tool that allows you to calculate the duration or time difference between two given points in time. It can be used to calculate things like the total hours between two specific times or dates, the number of work days between two dates (excluding weekends and holidays), or even the total seconds or minutes.
The input to the calculator usually consists of two dates and times, and the calculator determines the difference between them. The results can often be presented in various units such as seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years, depending on the user’s needs.
For example, you might use a time duration calculator to figure out how long a project took by inputting the start date/time and the end date/time. The calculator would then tell you the total elapsed time. Or, you could use it to calculate the number of days until a future event like a birthday or holiday.
Many digital and online versions of time duration calculators exist and they often include user-friendly interfaces that make it easy to input your times and get the results. These tools can be a handy resource for both personal and professional applications.
How to calculate time duration in Microsoft Excel.
Excel has built-in functions and features that allow you to calculate time duration easily. Here’s a simple example of how to calculate the duration between two times:
- Start by entering your start and end times in two cells. For instance, let’s say cell A1 is your start time (e.g., 9:00 AM) and B1 is your end time (e.g., 5:00 PM).
- In cell C1 (or another cell of your choice), enter the formula
=B1-A1to calculate the time difference. - Press Enter. You should see the time difference displayed in the cell. If you see a decimal number, it might be because your cell is not formatted to display time. To fix this:
- Right-click the cell with the formula.
- Select Format Cells.
- In the Category list, click Time.
- In the Type list, select the time format you want to use, then click OK.
Please note that if your time duration extends over 24 hours, Excel will only display the “extra” hours above 24 (for example, for a duration of 27 hours, it will show 3 hours). To avoid this, you can apply a different formatting:
- Right-click the cell with the formula.
- Select Format Cells.
- In the Category list, click Custom.
- In the Type input field, type
[h]:mm:ssthen click OK. This will correctly display durations over 24 hours.
Keep in mind that Excel treats times and dates as numbers, so it is also possible to perform other calculations on them, such as adding or subtracting hours or finding averages. The decimal fraction represents the time portion of the value where 1 represents a full day. So 0.5 would represent half a day or 12 hours.
How to calculate time duration in Google Sheets.
Calculating time duration in Google Sheets is quite similar to doing it in Excel. Here’s an example:
- Start by entering your start and end times in two cells. Let’s say cell A1 is your start time (e.g., 9:00 AM) and B1 is your end time (e.g., 5:00 PM).
- In cell C1 (or another cell of your choice), enter the formula
=B1-A1to calculate the time difference. - Press Enter. You should see the time difference displayed in the cell. If you see a decimal number, it might be because your cell is not formatted to display time. To fix this:
- Click the cell with the formula.
- Click Format on the menu, then Number, then Time.
If your end time falls on the next day (for example, you start at 10:00 PM and end at 6:00 AM), you may get a negative duration. To correct this, you can use the following formula:
=MOD(B1 - A1, 1)
This formula uses the MOD function to get the remainder of the time duration division by 1 day, effectively adjusting the result to handle times that cross midnight.
As with Excel, durations over 24 hours are represented as days by default. If you want to display them as hours:
- Click the cell with the formula.
- Click Format on the menu, then Number, then More Formats at the bottom, then select Custom number format.
- In the custom format box, type
[h]:mm:ss, then click Apply. This will correctly display durations over 24 hours.
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