Change Date Format in SharePoint [Modify in a Minute]

By default, the date format in SharePoint is set to the US format (MM/DD/YYYY). But in case you want to change the date format and set it to your regional standard format,

you can modify the date format in two ways — change the date format for a particular site or subsite or change it for a particular list column.

I will break down the steps to change SharePoint’s date format in this article. Let’s begin!

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How to Change Date Format in SharePoint

To change the date format in SharePoint for a particular site or subsite, click on the gear icon from the top right side. Select Site information > View all site settings. Under Site administration, click Regional settings. Click the Locale drop-down icon, select the desired region, and click the OK button.

Note: You must change the date format while creating a SharePoint environment. This is because changing the Regional settings won’t affect other sites or subsites. So, if you don’t modify the date format initially, you’ll have to change it manually for all existing subsites.

1. Modify the Date Format for a Particular Site or Subsite

If you have set your mind to creating a SharePoint environment or have already created one but need to change the date format, go to SharePoint regional settings. And from there, you can change the date format according to your required region.

Here is the procedure to modify the date format for a particular site or subsite:

Go to the root site and click the gear icon (Settings).
Select Site information > View all site settings.
Look for the Site administration section on the leftmost side.
Click on the Regional settings option.
Click on the Locale drop-down from the Region category.
Choose your required region and click the OK button from the bottom.

For example, The default date format is set to English (United States), which is “MM/DD/YYYY”. So, if you want to change the date format to English (United Kingdom), the date format will change to “DD/MM/YYYY”.

2. Change SharePoint Date Format for a Particular List Column

Moreover, you can also change the date format for individual list columns in SharePoint. So, go to the list where you want to modify the date style according to your preferred region.

Here are the steps to change the SharePoint date format for a specific list column:

Go to the list where you want to change the column date format.
Click on the + Add column button.
Scroll down to the end and select See all column types.
Hit the Next button.
Give the column a name. For example, Formatted Date
Click the radio button beside the Calculated (calculation based on other columns) option.
Go to the Formula text box and type the following:

=TEXT([Purchase Date],”dd-mmm-yy”)

In my case, the Purchase Date is the column name containing the date & time. So, you must type in your column name in that place.

I have given the date format in “dd-mmm-yy”. But you can put your date format according to your region format. For example, you can give “dd/mm/yyyy”, or “mm/dd/yyyy”, etc. There are so many date formats that you can change for the list column.

Now, click the Single line of text option. After that, hit the OK button. Now, go back to your list and see the modified date format in the newly added column.

How to Change Friendly to Standard Date Format in SharePoint Lists & Libraries

To change that to Standard, select the gear icon > Library settings > More library settings. Go to the Columns section and click on the Modified column currently in the friendly format. Under the Display format section, click the radio button for Standard. Then click the OK button.

So, what is the Friendly format for the date & time?

In the usual date & time format, you will see the date as 24/5/23 or 5/24/23, and so on. But the friendly format differs because you won’t see any date here. Instead, you will see yesterday, two days ago, etc.

This friendly format is mainly used on social media platforms. Now, let’s see how to change the SharePoint list or library date format to standard format from friendly.

For List

Click on the gear icon > List settings.
Select the column name from the Column section.
Click on the radio button for Standard from the Display format section.
Hit the Ok button from the bottom.

For Document Library

Select gear icon > Library settings > More library settings.
Click on the column name under the Column section.
Select the radio button for Standard under the Display format part.
Hit the OK button from the bottom to save changes.

FAQs

What is SharePoint’s default date format?

By default, SharePoint’s date format is in English (United States) and formatted as MM/DD/YYYY.

What is the friendly format in SharePoint?

Friendly date format is used mainly in social media platforms. Instead of showing the exact date, the friendly format shows dates like Yesterday, two days ago, etc., but in the Standard format, you see dates formatted like DD/MM/YYYY or MM-DD-YYYY.

When do you need to change the SharePoint date format?

You must change the SharePoint date format before creating the SharePoint site. Otherwise, you have to adjust the date format for every subsite manually.

Closing Thoughts

Changing the date format is required when working on SharePoint projects, but you’re not in the USA region. By default, the SharePoint date format is set to English (United States). So, changing the date format becomes obsolete if you’re in another region.

From this article, you already know how to change the date format for your SharePoint site. However, if you need more help regarding SharePoint, please knock me in the comment box below.

Good luck with SharePoint!