Convert to Excel incorrect region format for date

[David Bodey]

I have a PDF report that has a column of dates with the text formatted as DD/MM/YYYY for the Australian region. Last year up to Decemeber 2024 I was able successfully convert the PDF files to Excel using Acrobat and the Excel cells with a date were correctly interpreted as DD/MM/YYYY. I have started doing the conversion this year and the dates are being converted as if they are in MM/DD/YYYY formatted. I have tried this on multiple Windows 11 computers which have the correct region settings. I have use the Acrobat desktop app on Windows as well as Acrobat add-on for Microsoft Edge. I have been able to recreate the issue with a PDF I created myself. I have attached the PDF and the resulting Excel file. You will see the Excel file displays DD/MM/YYYY but when you click on the cell you see the value is MM/DD/YYYY. If you apply the General format, you see the date number value whihc reflect the USA date. Hope I fhave explained this well.

[David Bodey]

Sorry - here is the correct Excel file

[AnandSri]

Hello,

I hope you're doing well, and we apologize for the delayed response and the trouble.

Please try the following steps and let us know how it goes: 

Check Regional Settings: Ensure that your computer's regional settings match the desired date format (e.g., DD/MM/YYYY). This can be done through the Control Panel on Windows or System Preferences on macOS.

Adjust Excel Settings: After conversion, you may need to manually adjust the date format in Excel:

• Select the date column.
• Right-click and choose "Format Cells."
• Under the "Number" tab, select "Date" and choose the appropriate format

Format Cells as Text in Excel: If dates are still not displaying correctly, select the affected cells in Excel and format them as 'Text'. This prevents Excel from automatically reformatting the dates based on its default settings.

For reference, see these articles: https://adobe.ly/3D4mvAz, and https://adobe.ly/3D4mwo7

Thanks,

Anand Sri.

[David Bodey · Accepted solution]

Just to conclude, the above suggestions, while correct, were not part of my resolution. The issue just went away, and the expected behaviour returned. I can only assume that Adobe fixed something in their back-end. Cheers.