time(
TIME
)

The time( function converts text into a number representing a time.


Parameters

This function has one parameter:

time – the text that is to be converted into a time value.


Description

The time( function converts text into a number representing a time. (Note: The seconds( function is a synonym for the *time(* function, and works exactly the same.) The function returns a number representing the time. The number is the number of seconds since midnight. For example, if the time parameter is 10:23 AM this function will return the number 37,380.

The time( function tries very hard to understand the time you give it. It will accept a time without colons, for example 425 pm instead of 4:25 pm. If there is no am or pm the time function will assume it is 24 hour time.

The time( function will also convert named times: noon, midnight, morning, afternoon, evening, and night. By default the function assumes that morning is 9:00 am, afternoon is 1:00 pm, evening is 6:00 pm, and night is 10:00 pm.

Here are some examples of times that this function understands:

4:13 PM
11:00 AM
2:30
18:45
230
4p
midnight
noon
morning
afternoon
evening
night
nite

Note: If you want to enter a time that is beyond 24 hours (for example an elapsed time) then you must use separators between the hours, minutes and seconds, like this:

86:45:02

You can use any punctuation character you like as a separator, including spaces or periods, however, there must be only one separator character between each number.


Error Messages

Illegal time – This error appears if a valid time is not specified. For example two o’clock is not a format that this function understands.


See Also


History

VersionStatusNotes
10.0UpdatedThe time( and seconds( functions have been combined, now both work exactly the same.