[Excel] Database files and dates

I'm wondering if someone can help out on a date format for multiple tabs. We have 1 database that updates dates on all tabs and it works fine, but the date is downloaded in the database. On another the date itself isn't downloaded via the data update, as it isn't included in the data so we tried using the =tab name cell name! which is very basic in itself, but for the life of me, updating the first tab after the database update will not allow the format to flow across the tabs and it just hashes the entry on all tabs. Anyone know of a simple way around this, so the second database will allow 1 date update on tab 1 to cover all tabs, 10 or so in all, to save using copy/paste to do all of them? Thanks. -- The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing - Edmund Burke