Change the default date, time, number or measurement format

Changing the default country/region in Windows changes the default format for numbers, currencies, time, and dates to those usually used for that country/region. For example, if you want to change your default measuring units from centimeters to inches, or display a date as 2009/10/31 instead of 10/31/2009, select the country/region where you are located and the standard measurement systems used in that location are applied to your computer.

This setting affects various features in various Microsoft Office programs, including:

  • Calendar in Microsoft Outlook.
  • Cells formatted with certain date, time, or currency options in Microsoft Excel.

For more information, see What can I do with regional formats and languages.

What do you want to do?

Change the default country/region

In Windows Vista

Learn how to change the default date, time, number, or currency options for your Windows Vista computer, see Change the country or region setting.

In Microsoft Windows XP

Learn how to change the default date, time, number, or currency options for your Windows XP computer, see Enabling International Support in Windows XP.

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Change the default date, time, or number format

In Windows Vista

Learn how to change the way Windows Vista displays dates, times, currency, and measurements, see Change the display of dates, times, currency, and measurements.

To change the display to Hijiri dates, see Display Hijiri dates.

In Microsoft Windows XP

Learn how to change the default date, time, number, or currency options for your Windows XP computer, see Enabling International Support in Windows XP.

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Change the measurement format

In Windows Vista
  1. Click the Start button, and then click Control Panel.
  2. Click Clock, Language, and Region, and then click Change the date, time, or number format.

 Note   In Classic view, double-click Regional and Language Options.

  1. On the Formats tab, select the country/region that you want to use in the list under Current format.
  2. Click Customize this format, and then under Measurement system, select either Metric or U.S..


 Notes 

In Microsoft Windows XP
  1. Exit all Microsoft Office programs.
  2. Click the Start button, and then click Control Panel.
  3. Click Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options, and then click Regional and Language Options.

 Note   In Classic view, double-click Regional and Language Options.

  1. On the Regional Options tab, select the country/region that you want to use in the list under Standards and formats.
  2. Click Customize, and then under Measurement system, select either Metric or U.S.

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Change the digit type

In Windows Vista
  1. Click the Start button, and then click Control Panel.
  2. Click Clock, Language, and Region, and then click Change the date, time, or number format.

 Note   In Classic view, double-click Regional and Language Options.

  1. On the Formats tab, select the country/region that you want to use in the list under Current format.
  2. Click Customize this format, and then under Standard digits, select the type of digits that you want.
In Microsoft Windows XP

Learn how to add support for right-to-left languages by changing the kind of digits used in Windows XP, such as Farsi, Urdu, or Arabic digits, see Changing the format of digits in Windows XP.

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Applies to:
Access 2013, Excel 2013, InfoPath 2013, OneNote 2013, Outlook 2013, PowerPoint 2013, Project Professional 2013, Project Standard 2013, Publisher 2013, Visio 2013, Visio Professional 2013, Word 2013, Access 2010, Excel 2010, OneNote 2010, Outlook 2010, PowerPoint 2010, Project 2010, Publisher 2010, Visio 2010, Word 2010, Access 2007, Excel 2007, Groove 2007, InfoPath 2007, OneNote 2007, Outlook 2007, PowerPoint 2007, Project 2007, Publisher 2007, SharePoint Designer 2007, Visio 2007, Word 2007