Insert Date Shortcut in Google Sheets

Sometimes you need to drop today’s date into a cell as a record. Not a live, updating value. The actual date this happened.

Typing it in by hand works, but it’s slow. There’s a keyboard combo that stamps the date straight in.

The date it inserts is static. It won’t change when you reopen the sheet tomorrow.

Insert Date Keyboard Shortcut in Google Sheets

Insert Date Keyboard Shortcut (Windows Windows)

Ctrl + ;

Insert Date Keyboard Shortcut (Mac Mac)

⌘ + ;

What this shortcut does

The shortcut stamps today’s date into the selected cell. The value is static, which means it stays the same no matter when you open the sheet next.

Sheets formats the date using your spreadsheet’s locale. US locale shows 5/28/2026, UK locale shows 28/05/2026, and so on.

The underlying value is still a real date number, so you can do date math on it (subtract two cells to get days between them, for example).

How to use it (step by step)

  1. Click the cell you want the date to land in.
  2. Press the shortcut. Today’s date appears in the cell.
  3. Press Enter to confirm and move to the next cell.

A quick example. You’re logging a support ticket and want to mark when it came in.

Click the date column for that row.

Press the shortcut. Today’s date drops in. Tomorrow, the value still reads today’s date. That’s exactly what a log entry should do.

Alternative method (typing or the TODAY function)

You can type the date in by hand. Sheets is smart enough to recognise 5/28 or May 28 and convert it to a real date value.

For a date that updates every time the sheet opens, use the TODAY function instead:

=TODAY()

That formula returns today’s date as a live value. Tomorrow it’ll read tomorrow’s date. Use static (the shortcut) for a record. Use TODAY() for a date that should always be current.

Things to watch for

  • Static, not live. The shortcut writes the date as a value. Reopening the sheet next week doesn’t change it. That’s the whole point of using it instead of TODAY().
  • Mac function keys. The combo doesn’t use a function key, so the Mac fn-row setting doesn’t get in the way here.
  • Semicolon key on non-US layouts. On some keyboard layouts (German QWERTZ for one), the ; lives on a different physical key or needs Shift to type. If the shortcut doesn’t fire, check where your ; actually is.
  • Locale formatting. The visible date format comes from File, Settings, Locale. Change the locale and the display flips to that region’s date order. The underlying value doesn’t change.
  • Combine with insert time. Press the date shortcut, then the insert-time shortcut in the same cell to get a full timestamp.

Google Sheets keyboard shortcuts

Related Google Sheets shortcuts: