XL98: "am/pm" Changed to "AM/PM" in Custom Number Format

• Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

If you open a workbook created in an earlier version of Microsoft Excel, and the workbook contains time data, the formatting for time data in cells or in charts may be changed from "am/pm" to "AM/PM." For example, if you create the time "1:00 am" (without the quotation marks) in cell A1 and you open the workbook in Microsoft Excel 98, cell A1 displays "1:00 AM" (without the quotation marks).

CAUSE

Microsoft Excel 98 does not support custom number formats in which "AM/PM" is lowercase. For example, the following format is not supported:

   h:mm am/pm

WORKAROUND

To display "am/pm" in lowercase, change the number formatting to a format similar to the following

   h:mm a/p"m"

1. Click Cells on the Format menu.

2. Click the Number tab.

3. In the Category list, click Custom. In the Type box, type the following

         h:mm a/p"m"
   

   and then click OK.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

REFERENCES

For more information about custom number formats, click Contents and Index on the Help menu, click the Index tab in MS Excel Help, type the following text

   number formats, custom