I have a program that queries a database and loads data into a DataGridView. From there, I have a button that copies the datagrid data onto the clipboard where I can paste it into an Excel spreadsheet.

The issue I'm having is with my date fields. Here's what's going on. I have a data reader and as I loop through that I put the fields into a dataset. So, for the birthdate I have this:

Code:
  anyRow("DOB") = "'" & Format(ERDataReader.Item("Birthdate"), "MMddyyyy").ToString
This works as I would expect and places a date in the datagridview like "02031927". The problem is that it for some reason puts: '02031927. Note the apostrophe in front.

I want the date exactly like it is, just without the apostrophe. How do I accomplish this?

In a similar vein, I have a field called "Visit Type" which is supposed to be 3 characters long (e.g. 002). I format this field accordingly and it looks perfect in the DataGridView:

Code:
 anyRow("LOS") = Format(DataReader.Item("LOS"), "000").ToString.PadLeft(3, "0")
If I copy the datagridview contents to the clipboard and paste into Excel, a value like 003 is converted to just 3. How do I maintain the leading zeros?