# Date format in XP task tray **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 28, 2003, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-in-xp-task-tray/221413 "2003-12-28T14:43:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![flex727](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/258eb7/32.png) [@flex727](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flex727)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2003, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-in-xp-task-tray/221413/1 "2003-12-28T14:43:37Z")
I have three computers running Win XP Pro and one of them has a different date format in the task tray that I like. The one I like looks like this: 8:43AM Sunday 12/28/2003 The others show date and time only, not day of the week. I cannot find any setting for this (though I have not yet searched the registry). Anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![flex727](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/258eb7/32.png) [@flex727](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flex727)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-in-xp-task-tray/221413/2 "2003-12-28T14:48:19Z")
Well that was pretty cool. The time of my post exactly matches what I typed (I assume that’s not the case for anyone outside of US CST though). That’s only because the difference between my computer’s clock and SDMB’s is accidentally equal to the time it took for me to finish my post and submit. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2003, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-in-xp-task-tray/221413/3 "2003-12-28T14:49:09Z")
Regional and Language Settings in Control Panel. ---
**Author:** ![flex727](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/258eb7/32.png) [@flex727](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flex727)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2003, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-in-xp-task-tray/221413/4 "2003-12-28T14:58:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by don’t ask \* > \*\*Regional and Language Settings in Control Panel. \*\* Thanks for the quick answer, **don’t ask** , but I don’t get how this setting specifically addresses the task tray date format. I see where it tells how to generally format numbers, dates, etc, but I don’t see how to tell Windows to _use_ the “long” format for date in the task tray. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2003, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-in-xp-task-tray/221413/5 "2003-12-28T15:11:50Z")
I don’t know it just does. If I choose customise and change the long date to not have the day - it doesn’t display in the task tray. If I change it back it does. So customise button, date tab and make sure long date starts **dddd** ---
**Author:** ![lilbtagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4491bb/32.png) [@lilbtagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lilbtagna)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-in-xp-task-tray/221413/6 "2003-12-28T15:57:59Z")
The date time/date in my task tray is displayed the way you like it, but I don’t know how to do it other than by making the taskbar taller. To do that, I right-clicked on the taskbar, unlocked it, stretched it up, then locked it again (hope that makes sense). Is the taskbar on the computer with the date format that you like any bigger than the other taskbars? ---
**Author:** ![lilbtagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4491bb/32.png) [@lilbtagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lilbtagna)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2003, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-in-xp-task-tray/221413/7 "2003-12-28T16:03:16Z")
Oh, forgot to add, if your taskbar’s already big and the day of the week isn’t displayed, it might be because the font is too big. That can be changed by right-clicking on the desktop \> properties \> appearance \> advanced. From there, you can mess with fonts for different parts of the desktop. ---
**Author:** ![flex727](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/258eb7/32.png) [@flex727](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flex727)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-in-xp-task-tray/221413/8 "2003-12-28T23:07:10Z")
Okay, I had it backwards. I was posting from the “good” computer and going by memory on the others. I get the time and day-of-week, but not the date on the others. On all the computers I have the task bar set to double-row height (I do a lot of multi-tasking). I think I have the fonts and other settings within my control the same on all, but I’ll double check.