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Q192706: WD97: Year 2000 Date Parsing Improvements in SR-2

Article: Q192706
Product(s): Word 97 for Windows
Version(s): Service Release 2
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbdta word97
Last Modified: 13-AUG-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Word 97 for Windows, version Service Release 2 
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SUMMARY
=======

Microsoft Office 97 Service Release 2 (SR-2) improves the way Word handles
dates. Specifically, SR-2 makes it easier to do the following in Word:

- Work with dates that use single digits (for example 1/1/0)

- Sort dates that use 00 for the year

- Use dates in a document saved in RTF format

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

Working with Dates That Use Single Digits
-----------------------------------------

If you set the Regional Settings in Control Panel to a non-US date format, such
as Year/Month/Day, Microsoft Word 97 SR-2 will now correctly parse single digit
years around the year 2000.


Sorting Dates That Use 00 for the Year
--------------------------------------

If you set the Regional Settings in Control Panel to a non-US date format, such
as Year/Month/Day, Microsoft Word 97 SR-2 will now correctly parse dates that
have a zero for the month or day. Pre-SR-2 versions of Microsoft Word would give
erroneous results in this situation.


Using Dates in a Document Saved in RTF Format
---------------------------------------------

If you set the Regional Settings in Control Panel to a short date format, such as
mm/dd/yy, and then save a document containing a 2-digit date value, such as
"11/15/01," as Rich text Format (RTF), Microsoft Word 97 SR-2 will write out
custom date properties as 4 digits (instead of two) in the RTF file. Pre-SR-2
versions of Microsoft Word would write custom date properties out in RTF as
"11/15/01." SR-2 correctly writes it out as "11/15/2001."

When Is Date Parsing Used?
--------------------------

Microsoft Word parses dates whenever it performs operations on dates. Examples
include:

- Sorting dates in a table.

- Applying a date formatting picture switch to merge fields, quote fields, or
  input to a form field.

- Linking bookmarked text to a date type custom property.

- String to date operations in WordBasic.

REFERENCES
==========

For more information about the year 2000, please see the following articles in
the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q171286 WD: Find File Fails with Dates Beyond Year 2000

  Q110995 WD6X: How to Set a Default DATE Field Format in Word 6.0

  Q85557 File Manager Shows Garbled Date for Year 2000 or Later


Additional query words: year 2000

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Keywords          : kbdta word97 
Technology        : kbWordSearch kbWord97 kbWord97Search kbZNotKeyword2 kbWord97SR2
Version           : :Service Release 2
Issue type        : kbinfo
Solution Type     : kbfix

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