WD97: Different Date Formats Listed on Insert Date and Time List (179495)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
This article was previously published under Q179495

SYMPTOMS

When you click Date And Time on the Insert menu, you may see different date formats under Available Formats within the same or different Word documents.

For example, if you place your insertion point at a place in the document, and then click Date And Time on the Insert menu, you may see the following list:

1/5/98
Monday, January 05, 1998
January 5, 1998
1/5/1998
1998-01-05
5-Jan-98
1.5.98
Jan. 5, 98
5 January, 1998
January, 98
Jan-98

NOTE: The month appears BEFORE the day in most of the dates in this list (like United States dates).

If you place your insertion point at another place in your document, click Date And Time on the Insert menu, you may see the following list:

05/01/98
Monday, 05 January 1998
05 January 1998
05/01/1998
1998-01-05
5-Jan-98
05.01.98
05 Jan. 98
5 January, 1998
January 98
Jan-98

NOTE: The day appears BEFORE the month in most of the dates in this list (like European dates).

CAUSE

You will see different date and time formats in the Date And Time dialog box on the Insert menu if the text has been formatted with different Language character settings.

WORKAROUND

To work around this behavior, change the Language character setting to the same language in the entire document. To do so, follow these steps:

  1. On the Edit menu, click Select All.
  2. On the Tools menu, point to Language, and click Set Language.
  3. Select a Language, like English (United States), and then click OK.

MORE INFORMATION

The first list in the "Symptoms" section was formatted with the Language setting of English (United States); the second list in the "Symptoms" section was formatted with the Language setting of English (United Kingdom).

For additional information about date and time formats, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

134910 WD: How to Set a Default DATE Field Format in Word

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:11/14/2000
Keywords:kbprb KB179495
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