excel - summing time values

question

I have a column of cells in an Excel spreadsheet containing times like, 3:15, relating to the time spent on a task. At the bottom of the column I've used AutoSum to add up the times, but the result appears as either a date or funny number. What do I do to get a total in hours and minutes?

answer

The formula you created with AutoSum is fine.

All you need do is apply an appropriate format to its result:

Select the cell containing the total
From the Format menu, choose the Cells command
From the Category list, select Custom
In the Type box, input this format
[h]:mm
(note the use of square brackets).
If you want to show seconds in your total, input
[h]:mm:ss
(this format is listed in Excel's Custom formats)
Click OK.

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