Windows 11 shows you the time and date in the bottom right corner of your screen at all times and is usually formatted to match the region you selected during the setup process. For most people, this makes sense since it's the format you're most familiar with. But what if you don't like it?
If your PC's region is set to the US, you will see the date in mm/dd/yyyy format, but as anyone in Europe will tell you, dd/mm/yyyy is the best format. Here's what you can do to get the correct date and time format on your Windows PC.
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How to change the date format to another country
If you want to use a date and time format that is used in a specific country, you can change it relatively easily.
- Open that Settings Access menu by searching or using it Victory + me.
- Go to Time & language in the menu on the left.
- Click Language and region.
- Click the drop-down menu next to Regional format (should be called Recommended).
- Select the regional format for the desired country.
This method only allows you to select regional formats for the languages you have installed on your PC. If you want to use a format from a country that speaks a different language, you must first add that language to Windows using the Add a language button at the top of the page.
Suppose your PC is in English and this is the only language you have installed. In this case, you can choose the regional format used in the US or the format used in the UK
Use custom date and time settings
Another option is to fully customize the time and date settings, which can also be done in the Settings app.
- Open that Settings Access menu by searching or using it Victory + me.
- Go to Time & language in the menu on the left.
- Click Language and region.
- Expand the Regional format Click on the field by clicking on it (do not click on the drop-down menu within it).
- Click Change formats.
- Use that First day of the week Dropdown menu if you want to select which day of the week should come first in a calendar.
- Click on Short date Dropdown menu to change the format for short dates (e.g. on the taskbar, our main target here).
- Click on Long date Dropdown menu to change long date format.
- If you also want to change the time format, do the same Short time And Long time.
This makes it possible to get the time and date format that is ideal for you without having to add additional languages to your PC, although this requires a little more work.
How to change the date format using Control Panel
- Find and open the Control panel.
- Change them According to opinion Option (top right) to either Big symbols or Small symbols.
- Click region.
- Use that Short date, Long date, Short time, Long time, And First day of the week Drop-down menus to select the correct format for each format.
- Preview the changes below Examples.
- Click OK to confirm your changes.
Find the right time and date for you
Ultimately, both methods allow you to view the time and date on your laptop in the format you prefer. The Settings app is definitely the most accessible option, but if you're more comfortable with the Control Panel and prefer it, it's still available too.
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