Excel probably considers the cell entry January 1, 2020 to be a*LabelValueFormulaText string

In Excel, a cell entry such as "January 1, 2020" can indeed be interpreted in different ways depending on how it is input and the formatting of the cell. Here's a breakdown of how Excel may treat such an entry:

1. Label: If the cell is formatted as text or if the entry is preceded by an apostrophe (e.g., 'January 1, 2020), Excel will treat it as a label (i.e., a string of text). In this case, it will not be recognized as a date and cannot be used in date calculations.

2. Value: If the cell is formatted as a date, Excel will recognize "January 1, 2020" as a date value. This allows you to perform date calculations, such as adding days or subtracting dates.

3. Formula: If there are any formulas referencing this cell (like =A1+1 where A1 contains the date), and if the date is stored correctly as a value, Excel will process the formula accordingly.

4. Text: When inputting the date in a non-date format (like January:1:2020 or if surrounded by quotes), it will be treated as a textual entry. Again, this will prevent any date-related operations.

Conclusion

To ensure that Excel recognizes "January 1, 2020" as a date value, make sure that:

• The cell is formatted as a Date.
• The entry is made correctly without any additional characters that might make it a label or text.

Proper formatting is key to ensuring accurate operations within Excel.