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You open an order sheet and the date column displays five hash marks.

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The source value has not necessarily disappeared.

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Excel commonly uses hash marks when a formatted date or number

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cannot fit inside the column.

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In this fictional exercise, we will check the value, widen just

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the date column, and confirm that every order still matches its date and amount.

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Open the fictional practice CSV in an Excel workbook.

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Check that the ISO strings became date values; if not, type

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the three October 2026 dates into column B.

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Then format B as a date and make it narrow enough

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to show hash marks.

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The three order IDs and amounts must stay paired with their dates.

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Keep a copy to compare each row after the fix.

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Select a hash-marked cell and read its value in the formula bar.

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If the underlying date is present, your first action is layout, not data replacement.

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Check another row as well: an entire narrow column can affect many records.

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If the formula bar itself contains an unexpected value, stop and

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investigate the source data before applying a visual fix.

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Move the pointer to the right boundary of the Order date

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column header and double-click to AutoFit its width.

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You can also drag that boundary wider.

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Excel should now reveal the date text without changing the cell value.

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On a narrow screen, use the column header boundary rather than

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changing the font size or deleting the date format.

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After widening, verify that SO-014 is paired with October eighth and

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one hundred twenty-five, SO-015 with October ninth and eighty, and

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SO-016 with October tenth and forty.

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The width adjustment should affect appearance only.

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These row checks catch a separate problem such as an accidental

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sort that changed which date belongs to an order.

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Hash marks are not always caused by width.

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A negative date or time value can also render this way

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in Excel's date system.

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If the column is already wide and the problem remains, inspect

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the underlying value and number format.

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Check the formula that produced the date, especially subtraction across dates.

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Do not convert an erroneous negative date into text to disguise it.

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The solution is complete when all three dates are readable and

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the order IDs and amounts still match the practice list.

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Save the corrected copy.

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If you are working on a real export, repeat this check

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on several rows before sharing it.

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The downloadable answer file records the expected dates and reminds you

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that a display fix must not silently alter the data.