WD2000: Cannot Change Suggested AutoComplete Date Year Format

After you change the Regional Settings on your computer to use a four-digit year (for example, in the short-date format), the AutoComplete feature in Microsoft Word still suggests a two-digit year.

To resolve this problem, obtain Microsoft Office 2000 Service Release 1/1a (SR-1/SR-1a).

To obtain SR-1/SR-1a, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Use one of the following methods to temporarily work around this problem:

Method 1: Create an AutoCorrect Entry

Use this method to correct the date after accepting the suggested AutoComplete date. To do this, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect.
2. On the AutoCorrect tab, type /00 in the Replace box. Then type /2000 in the With box.
3. Click Add to add your new AutoCorrect entry to the AutoCorrect list.
4. Click OK to close the AutoCorrect dialog box.

When you type the first four characters of the date, Word suggests today's date as usual. If you type 1/1/, Word suggests the date 1/1/00. Press ENTER or the TAB key to accept the suggested date. When you press the SPACEBAR to type additional text or press ENTER to go to the next paragraph, Word corrects the date with the AutoCorrect entry you added.

For example, Word corrects the date from the date you accepted, 1/1/00, to 1/1/2000.

Method 2: Use the "M/d/yyyy" or "MM/dd/yyyy" Date Format

Use this method to "force" Word to show the correct AutoComplete date format as M/d/yyyy or MM/dd/yyyy. To do this, follow these steps:

NOTE: There is no known workaround that forces Word to show an AutoComplete date in the format of M-d-yyyy or MM-dd-yyyy.

1. Quit Microsoft Word.
2. On the Windows Start menu, point to Settings and click Control Panel.
3. Double-click Regional Settings.
4. On the Date tab, type one of the following in the Short date style box:
   • If you want to type and show the date as M/d/yyyy (for example: 1/1/2000), type M-d-yyyy.
     
     -or-
   • If you want to type and show the date as MM/dd/yyyy (for example: 01/01/2000), type MM-dd-yyyyNOTE: Word does not show or use the Short date style format of M-d-yyyy or MM-dd-yyyy. Instead, this "forces" Word to use the short date style M/d/yyyy or MM/dd/yyyy.
     
     
5. Click Apply.
6. Click OK to close the Regional Settings Properties dialog box.
7. Restart Microsoft Word.

When you type the first four characters of the date (for example, type 1/1/ or 01/0), Word shows an AutoComplete tip in the correct date format. To accept the AutoComplete date, press either ENTER or the TAB key.

For example, when you type 01/0, Word shows an AutoComplete date of 01/01/2000.

Method 3: Use the "d/M/yyyy" or "dd/MM/yyyy" Date Format in Non-English (U.S.) Text

Most non-English (U.S.) languages show the default date format with the day first, followed by the month and year. Microsoft Word cannot be set to display an AutoComplete tip in this format when your text is formatted in a non-English (U.S.) format.

Use this method when you want to insert a date in the format of either d/M/yyyy or dd/MM/yyyy when your text is formatted in a non-English (U.S.) language.

NOTE: If you want to use this date format in text formatted as English (U.S.), use Method 2 and type either d-M-yyyy or dd-MM-yyyy in step 4.

1. Select the text that you want to change the language of.
2. On the Tools menu, point to Language and click Set Language.
3. In the Language dialog box, click the language you want and click OK.
4. Move the insertion point where you want the date to appear, and click Date and Time on the Insert menu.
5. In the Date and Time dialog box, under Available formats, click the date format you want to use and click OK.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Office 2000 SR-1/SR-1a.

When you are typing to show AutoComplete text, do not press BACKSPACE when typing. This may cause the AutoComplete text to not be displayed.

For more information about the AutoComplete feature, click Microsoft Word Help on the Help menu, type autocomplete in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.