Format a date fetched from another cell for display using CONCATENATE

Question

Given say 2 different dates in A1 and B1, what I want to do is just show the range of dates as a label in A2 by using =concatenate(A1, " - ", A2)

However, A1 is in the default format (MM/DD/YYYY) and I want the label to have dates in the format DD MON, YYYY (as in 12/21/2012 -> 21st Dec, 2012).

Seems like this shouldn't be too complicated, but I couldn't find any way to do so by searching so far. I guess I could copy the same date into a different hidden cell with the appropriate format, and reference that for the concatenate function call - but I'd rather do so directly if possible.

So what I'm looking for is something like:

=concatenate(FORMAT(A1, 'DD MON YYYY'), " - ", FORMAT(A1, 'DD MON YYYY'))

except I can't find a suitable function.

Answer 1

There isn't a format function in Google spreadsheets. You have to use the TEXT(number, format) function.

I have to admit I always assume it will be format, but Excel uses Text so Google has to use it also.

Answer 2

This worked great for me:

=A1&TEXT(A2," mmmm d, yyyy")

Source