How do I convert serial dates to string dates from Excel?

I imported an Excel document into Matlab, and my first column contains serial dates. I want to plot this data using the plot tools, and I want to cross reference 2 or 3 data points to the date.

I am trying to figure out how to convert the serial dates to string dates, so I can plot the string dates on the graph, while cross-referencing the other 2 data points. Please help! I am a newb!

Answer 1

[Jan]

To get the Matlab serial date number from the Excel serial datenumber:

sdate_Matlab = sdate_Excel + 693960;

See doc m2xdate (Financial toolbox). Please note, that Excel on Macs use 1904 as base, such that the difference is 695422.

For plotting these serial dates are sufficient, when you use datetick. If you want date strings, use datestr

Answer 2

[Azzi Abdelmalek]

datestr(date)

%for example

d1=datenum(date);
d2=datestr(d1,'dd/mm/yyyy')