Inserting the Date

We are going to insert the date into a letter.

• Open the file Jack and Jill in the folder Word97 Training.
• Scroll through the file. It is a letter to Jack and Jill from Humpty Dumpty. We want to insert the date at the end of the letter.
• Click on the line at the end of the letter, beneath the line Kings Egg.

• Select Insert/Date and Time. The following dialog box will appear.
  

• Select the way you want your date and/or time to appear by clicking on that format. We will choose the format Tuesday, 31 August 1999.
• Click on OK. The date and/or time will be inserted into your work in the format you chose.

Sometimes we want the date we have inserted to change to always show the current date (for example, if we are setting up a letterhead). To set the date to change to the current date (as per the computer) you select the Update Automatically option before you click OK. The same applies for the document showing the current time.

• Open the file King's Castle in the Word97 Training folder.
• Scroll through the document. This is a letterhead created by Humpty Dumpty for the King. We want to insert the date under the seal at the bottom of the document.
• Click just under the seal so your insertion point is before the paragraph marker.
• Select Insert/Date and Time.
• Select the Update Automatically box (there should be a tick in it).
• Select the format Tuesday, 31 August 1999.
• Click OK.
• Press the space bar twice and then insert the time in the same way. Use the format 9:21:26. Take note of the time.
• Save the document as letterhead.
• Close the document.
• Wait about 30 seconds, then open the document again. The time will have changed to the time it was when you opened the letterhead.
• To update the time when you are working in a document, select the time and press F9. This will change the time shown in the document to the current time as per your computer clock.
• Save and close all open documents.

 

The Different Date and Time Formats

31/08/99

Tuesday, 31 August 1999

31 August 1999

31/08/1999

1999-08-31

31-Aug-99

31.08.99

31 Aug. 99

31 August, 1999

August 99

Aug-99

31/08/99 9:21

31/08/99 9:21:26

9:21

9:21:26

09:21

09:21:26