Working with Date/Time Values
Date/time values can be displayed as labels on axes, map layers, and used in setting limits on maps. Below are some methods available to work with date/time formats.
Formatting Data as Date/Time
To format cells in the worksheet as date/time, open the worksheet and select all of the cells that should be date/time format. Click the Data | Format | Format Cells command. In the Format Cells dialog, select Date/time as the Type and type the date/time format string into the Date/Time format field. Click OK and the selected cell is formatted as date/time. Alternatively, click the 
button to create the date/time format in the Date/Time Format Builder dialog. Save to a format, such as an Excel file, that accepts date/time formats to retain the date/time format.
Gridding Date/Time Values
Any worksheet column containing numbers, dates, or times can be used for gridding. When using date/time formats for any of the Data Columns, the values are stored in the grid as numbers, not in date/time format. To display date/time formats on the map, select the appropriate map part (axis, map layer, or map) and set the date/time label format.
Formatting Axes to Display Date/Time
Any axis can be changed to display dates or times for axis labels. To display date or time labels, click on the axis to select it. In the Properties window, click on the General tab. In the Labels section in the Label Format section, change the Type to Date/time. Then, set the Date/Time format to the desired label formats.
Formatting Contour Maps to Display Date/Time Labels
Any contour map label can be changed to display dates or times for axis labels. To display date or time labels, click on the contour map layer to select it. In the Properties window, click on the Levels tab.
For simple or logarithmic level methods: In the Labels section in the Label Format section, change the Type to Date/time. Then, set the Date/Time Format to the desired label formats.
For advanced level methods: Click the Edit Levels button next to the Contour levels command. In the Levels for Map dialog, click the Label button. Click the Format button to open the Label Format dialog. Change the Type to Date/Time. Then, set the Date/Time Format to the desired label formats. Click OK in all dialogs and the labels update.
Formatting Post or Classed Post Maps to Display Date/Time Labels
Any post map or classed post map label can be changed to display dates or times for axis labels. To display date or time labels, click on the post map layer or classed post map layer to select it. In the Properties window, click on the Labels tab. In the Label Set 1 section, set the Worksheet column to the column that contains the date/time values. In the Label Format section, change the Type to Date/time. Then, set the Date/Time Format to the desired label formats.
Setting Map Limits with Date/Time
When using date/time formats for any of the axis labels, the minimum and maximum on the Limits tab are entered in date/time format. To change the map limits, click on the Map object to select it. In the Properties window, click on the Limits tab. Highlight the existing date/time value in any of the xMin, xMax, yMin, or yMax boxes and enter the minimum or maximum date/time value. For instance, 02/02/2014 12:00:00 AM can be entered into the xMin option. The map limits must be entered in M/d/yyyy hh:mm:ss TT format.
Grid Residuals
The Grids | Calculate | Residuals command takes an existing grid and an X,Y,Z column from a data file and computes the residuals at the locations specified in the data file. The residual value is written to a new column in the worksheet. If the input Z values in the worksheet are in date/time format, then the residuals are the difference between the Z grid value and the input date/time Z value. This is not a date/time format, but is rather the difference between the times, signifying a time duration. The units are days.