Want to know how to make a dynamic annual calendar in Excel that automatically updates based on the year you choose? You’re in the right place. In this step-by-step guide, I’ll show you how to create a calendar that adjusts its days, months, and format simply by selecting a year from a dropdown. Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered with all the Excel functions and formatting tips you’ll need.

Here’s how you can set up your own dynamic calendar in Excel.

Setting Up the Current Date

The first thing we need is to display today’s date at the top of the calendar. Thankfully, Excel’s TODAY function makes this super easy.

  1. In cell A1, type:
    =TODAY() Hit Enter, and there you go, today’s date should appear in format like this: 11/14/2022.
  2. Now, let’s make it more readable:
    • Select the cell and right-click.
    • Go to Format Cells (or press Ctrl+1 for a shortcut).
    • Choose the Custom option.
    • In the Type field, enter:
      "Today: " dddd, mmmm dd, yyyy
    This will change the format to display something like:
    Today: Monday, November 14, 2022. You can also center the text across multiple columns (A1 to G1) by clicking Merge & Center. Add some bold styling and a background color for a polished look.

Labeling the Year

Next, we’ll add a section to Excel to display the year and set up our year selection dropdown in our dynamic annual calendar.

  1. Skip a row, and in cell C3, type your default year (e.g., 2022).
  2. Select columns C, D, and E, and Merge & Center them.
  3. Highlight the text if you’d like (e.g., bolding it, adding a background color, etc.).
  4. Rather than simply displaying the year, we’ll format the cell to include the text “Year” in front of it:
    • Hit Ctrl+1 to open Format Cells.
    • In the Custom option, use the type:
      "Year: " General.
    • Click OK to apply.
    Now it should say something like: Year: 2022.

Setting Up the Days of the Week

For the calendar format, we need to label the weekdays across the top of each week, starting in cell A4.

  1. In A4, type “Sunday”.
  2. Use the autofill handle to drag across the cells until Saturday is filled.
  3. Center the text in each cell and maybe bold the headers so they stand out.

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Adding a Year Dropdown List

We want the user to easily switch between different years in the calendar. For this, let’s create a dropdown using data from a separate sheet.

  1. Add a new sheet and rename it to “Lists”.
  2. In A1 of the new sheet, type “Year”.
  3. Start from 2015 and list consecutive years in column A until you reach your desired future year (e.g., 2040). Instead of typing every year manually:
    • Type 2015 in A2, then drag down to fill the following years.
  4. Select the list of years and turn it into a Table by pressing Ctrl+T.
  5. Go back to your calendar sheet. In C3, you’ll create the year dropdown:
    • Go to Data > Data Validation.
    • Choose List from the Allow dropdown.
    • In the Source field, click over to your “Lists” sheet and select the column with all your years.
    This creates a dropdown for users to select the year, and Excel will update your calendar based on that selection.

Calculating the First Day of the Year

Now, it’s time to actually populate the dynamic annual calendar in Excel with dates. Excel will need to know what day January 1st falls on for the selected year.

In A5, use the DATE function:

=DATE(C3, 1, 1)

This shows the 1st of January for the chosen year. For a dynamic calendar, we also need to calculate which day of the week this date falls on.

  1. To figure out the day of the week, use the WEEKDAY function:
=WEEKDAY(DATE(C3,1,1), 1)
  1. Now combine this to automatically adjust the calendar’s position at the start of the year:
=DATE(C3, 1, 1) - WEEKDAY(DATE(C3, 1, 1)) + 1

This places January 1st on the correct cell based on which weekday it starts.

Auto-populating the Rest of the Year’s Dates

We’ll use the SEQUENCE function to fill in all the days for the full 52 weeks of the year.

In A5, add the full formula:

=SEQUENCE(53,7,DATE(C3,1,1)-WEEKDAY(DATE(C3,1,1),1)+1,1)

This gives you a complete calendar with 53 weeks (just in case the year overlaps into a week 53).

At this point, the dynamic annual calendar will update every time you pick a different year from the dropdown!

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Styling the Calendar: Conditionally Formatting the Months

To make your calendar easier to read, we can apply color to alternating months.

  1. Select the entire calendar (from A5).
  2. Go to Home > Conditional Formatting > New Rule.
  3. Use a custom formula to apply formatting to odd months:
=ISODD(MONTH(A5))

Choose a fill color (like green) for the odd months.

  1. Repeat the process for even months using:
=ISEVEN(MONTH(A5))

Select another color (maybe light yellow) for even months.

Now the months alternate in color, making your calendar much easier to follow.

Highlighting Key Dates

  1. First Day of the Month: We’ll highlight the first day of all months with a red outline. Use the following formula in Conditional Formatting:
=AND(YEAR(A5)=$C$3, DAY(A5)=1)
  1. Today’s Date: To highlight today’s date, you’ll use another rule in Conditional Formatting:
=A5=$A$1

Choose a standout format like purple background with bold white text.

Handling Spillover from Previous and Future Years

Sometimes the last few days of December from the previous year or January from next year might spill into your current year’s calendar.

You can hide these “spillovers” using conditional formatting:

=YEAR(A5)<>$C$3

Set up the rule to either white out these cells or format them with a light gray to differentiate them from the current year.

Alternatively, if you’d rather just hide them completely, you can format these cells with:
" " (a blank space in quotes).

Final Touches and Formatting

After everything is set, it’s a good idea to add some final formatting touches:

  1. Select your days of the week (Sunday to Saturday) and apply a fill color to make them stand out.
  2. Set borders around the entire calendar grid to give it a cleaner look.
  3. Go to View and uncheck Gridlines for a more polished, calendar-like appearance.

That’s it! Now, when you select a year from the dropdown, your calendar will instantly adjust to reflect that year’s dates, formatting, and holidays.

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Conclusion

By following these steps, you’ve now created a dynamic annual calendar in Excel that updates based on the year selected. It’s functional, visually organized, and easy to modify for the future. Whether you’re keeping track of appointments, work schedules, or family events, this dynamic calendar can be adapted to your specific needs.

If you found this guide helpful or if you have any questions, drop a comment below. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the YouTube channel for more handy Excel tutorials!

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