Automatic time entry question

[E. Jones]

Hello all,

What I need is a way for a cell to automatically insert the actual time information was entered into another cell, without erasing a previous time already calculated. In the example below, information was entered in B2 at 1:30 PM, so the time showed in A2. At 1:40 PM, information was entered in C3, so 1:40 PM populated in A3. At this point, nothing has been entered in any other cells, therefore, no time shows in any more cells in column A. But, once I do put something in either column B or C, I need the current time to populate in Column A without disturbing the times that are already entered in A2, A3, etc.

If this is possible, that you very much in advance.

[TABLE="class: grid, width: 500"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]A[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]B[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]C[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Time[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Info 1[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Info 2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2[/TD]
[TD]1:30 PM[/TD]
[TD]new information written here[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3[/TD]
[TD]1:40 PM[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]new information written here[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]

 

[hajiali]

try in cell A1 =IF((OR(B1<>"", C1<>"")),NOW(),"") and drag the formula down to all the A columns you want, make sure you have time format for Column A other wise it will appear as decimal

 

[E. Jones]

Hajiali,

This formula works well except for the most critical aspect. I need any previous times that are recorded to stay saying the same thing, but when I input new information, ALL of the times change to the time of the last entry. How do I go about fixing this?

Thanks again in advance

 

[E. Jones]

Hello all,

If anyone is still wondering about this problem, I have the solution now:

=IF((OR(B2<>"",C2<>"")), IF(A2="",NOW(),A2),"")

You will get an error message at first, but the fix is easy. Go into your options menu and select formulas, then ensure that the "enable iterative calculation" box is selected, and you will be good to go! Hope this helps someone.