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

ID: Q134910

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
Microsoft Office 97 for Windows
Microsoft Windows 95

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, you should first make a backup copy of the registry files (System.dat and User.dat). Both are hidden files in the Windows folder.

                                  SUMMARY
                                  =======

This article describes how to change the default DATE field format in Word. There are two ways to insert DATE fields. The way to change the default setting depends on how you insert the field.

                             MORE INFORMATION
                             ================

CHANGING THE DEFAULT THAT APPEARS

WHEN YOU CLICK DATE AND TIME ON THE INSERT MENU

To change the default date that appears when you click Date And Time on the Insert menu, modify the date in the Regional Settings control panel. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

2. In the Control Panel, double-click the Regional Settings icon.

3. In the Regional Settings Properties dialog box, click the Date tab.

4. Under the Short Date Style, select the date format that you want.

   NOTE: If you type an invalid character in either the Short Date
   Style or the Long Date Style box, you will receive the following
   error message:

      One or more of the characters you typed for the Short Date (Long
      Date) style are invalid. Try typing different characters.

   In this case, you will have to retype the date style from step 4.

5. Click Apply, and then click OK.

For the new settings to take effect, you must quit and restart all instances of Word, including WordMail.

NOTE: If you click the Default button to change the default date format in the Date and Time dialog box, the default date is NOT changed when you restart Microsoft Word.

CHANGING THE DEFAULT THAT APPEARS

WHEN YOU CLICK FIELD ON THE INSERT MENU

When you click Field on the Insert menu and then click Date under Field names, the default date is determined by a registry setting. You can modify this registry setting by using the RegOptions macro (this macro comes with Word) or you can modify it with the Registry Editor.

Using the RegOptions Macro

In Word 97:

In Word 97, the RegOptions is located in the the Support8.dot template file. To access this macro, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Templates And Add-ins, and click Add.

2. Locate the Support8.dot template. (The default location for this file is

   "\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Macros\Support8.dot"). Select
   the Support8.dot template and click OK.

   The Support8.dot template will be added to the "Global Templates and Add-
   ins" box.

   NOTE: If the Support8.dot file is not on your computer, you may need to
   add that component of Office. For information about how to add this
   component of Office 97, please see the following article in the
   Microsoft Knowledge Base:

      ARTICLE-ID: Q120802
      TITLE     : Office: How to Add/Remove a Single Office
                  Program or Component

3. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Macros.

4. In the Macros Available In list, click Support8.dot (Global Template).

5. Under Macro Name, click RegOptions, and then click Run.

6. Click the Word 8.0 Options tab, and, under Options, select DateFormat.

7. Under Setting, type in the desired date format, and click OK.

In Word 7.x:

In Word 7.x, the RegOptions is located in the Macros7.dot file of Microsoft Word 7.x

1. On the File menu, click Templates, and then click Add.

2. Change to the Macros subfolder under Winword (for example,

   C:\Msoffice\Winword\Macros). Select the Macros7.dot file and click OK.

   This step adds the Macros7 template to the "Global Templates and Add-
   ins" box. Click OK.

   NOTE: Depending on what type of installation that you did, the
   Macros and/or Macros7.dot file may not be found. In this case
   you will need to add that component of the program. Please
   see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q120802
   TITLE     : Office: How to Add/Remove a Single Office
               Program or Component

3. On the Tools menu, click Macro. In the Macros Available In list, click

   Macros7.dot (Global Template). In the Macro Name list, click RegOptions,
   and then click Run.

4. In the Microsoft Word Registry Options dialog box, select the Section

   line for Word 7.0 Options. Change the Option line to DateFormat.

5. On the Setting line, type the format of the Date field you want, click

   Change, and then click OK. (For more information, see the Date Format
   Table later in this article.)

Using Registry Editor

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall Windows 95. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the Changing Keys And Values online Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe). Note that you should make a backup copy of the registry files (System.dat and User.dat) before you edit the registry.

1. Quit Word.

2. Click the Start button, and then click Run.

3. In the Open box, type "regedit" (without the quotation marks), and then

   click OK.

4. Locate the appropriate registry entry.

   For Word 97:

      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Word\Options

   For Word 7.0:

      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Word\7.0\Options

5. With the Options entry selected, on the Edit menu, click New, and then

   click String Value. Type "DateFormat" (without the quotation marks) and
   press ENTER.

6. Under Name (on the right side of the Registry Editor) click to select

   the DateFormat entry. On the Edit menu, click Modify. On the Value Data
   line, type the desired date format. (For more information about date
   formats, see the Date Format Table later in this article.)

7. Quit the Registry Editor and start Word.

   Date Format Table
   -----------------

   Setting                                Date result
   ----------------------------------------------------------------

   MMMM d, yyyy                           January 2, 1995

   MMMM dd, yyyy                          January 02, 1995

   MMM d, yyyy                            Jan 2, 1995

   dddd, MMMM d, yyyy                     Monday, January 2, 1995

   h:mm am/pm dddd, MMMM d                10:00 am Monday, January 2

NOTE: For this date format change to take effect, quit and restart Word. Press ALT+SHIFT+D to insert the Date field into your document with the new default date format.

For additional information about how to change the date format in the AutoComplete feature in Word 97, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q169967
   TITLE     : WD97: How To Change The Default Date AutoComplete Format

Additional query words: 8.0 8.0

Keywords          : kbusage kbfield winword word7 word95 
Version           : 7.0 7.0a 97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: August 7, 1997