For clarity assume the first row under RB contains "18631102" in text (birth). The first row under RD contains "19430329" also in text for the death. Ok, I think I need a little help reading the book. If a column labeled RB contains the dates in format YYYYMMDD, and I want to convert them into valid dates in another column, the book suggests: DateSerial(val(textfield)+val(mid([textfield]5,2)+val(right(textfield) Don't I need to tell it something more specific? Should that read: DateSerial(Val(left(Textfield,4)),val(mid(textfield,5,2)),val(right(textfiel d,2)) ?? If I add the year, month, and day together as shown in the book, I lose the date serial number, so I think this is a mis-print in the book. Do you agree? I.e., I think it should be: DateSerial(Val(Left(RB,4)),val(mid(RB,5,2,)),val(right(RB,2))) <I think I got it right, not sure.> Thanks, guys. Robert ************************************************************* You are receiving this mail because you subscribed to mso@xxxxxxxxxxxxx or MicrosoftOffice@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To send mail to the group, simply address it to mso@xxxxxxxxxxxxx To Unsubscribe from this group, send an email to mso-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" (without the quotes) in the subject line. Or, visit the group's homepage and use the dropdown menu. This will also allow you to change your email settings to digest or vacation (no mail). //www.freelists.org/webpage/mso To be able to use the files section for sharing files with the group, send a request to mso-moderators@xxxxxxxxxxxxx and you will be sent an invitation with instructions. Once you are a member of the files group, you can go here to upload/download files: http://www.smartgroups.com/vault/msofiles *************************************************************