Change the display of dates, times, currency, and measurements

Applies to all editions of Windows Vista.
Which edition of Windows Vista am I using?

You can change the format Windows uses to display dates, times, currency, and measurements. You can also change the sorting order of text to match sorting rules used in a specific country or region.

Open Regional and Language Options by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking Clock, Language, and Region, and then clicking Regional and Language Options.

Click the Formats tab, and then, in the Current format list, select the locale to use for the display of the date, time, currency, and measurements.

You can see how these items will appear in the area below the list.

NoteWith this version of Windows, administrators can set custom locales. There are two types of custom locales: supplemental locales and replacement locales. Supplemental locales contain locale data that is not available with any of the current locales and have unique names. For example, an enterprise might create a supplemental locale to meet the specific needs of all of its employees. Replacement locales are a customization of the locales that are included with this version of Windows. For example, if an enterprise wants to make a small change to an existing locale, such as making sure that its employees use the 24-hour clock, the enterprise could make this change using a replacement locale. If you are using either a supplemental or replacement locale, the name of the locale will have an asterisk next to it in the Current format list.

To customize how the date, time, currency, and measurements are displayed, click Customize this format, and then do one of the following:

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To change the way your computer displays numbers, click the Numbers tab. Items you might want to change based on the format language you chose are the decimal symbol and list separator, the format used for negative numbers and leading zeros, and the measurement system used (U.S. or metric).

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To change the way your computer displays currency values, click the Currency tab. Items you might want to change based on the format language you chose are the currency symbol, the formats used for positive or negative amounts, and the punctuation used to separate numbers.

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To change the way your computer displays the time, click the Time tab. For more information about setting the clock, see Set the clock.

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To change the way your computer displays the date, click the Date tab.

NoteIf you choose a locale that uses eras to represent dates, then "gg" will be used as the notation to indicate an era in the short and long date settings.

Change the display of dates, times, currency, and measurements

See also