Windows Basics:
Dialogs: Date/Time

Step-by-Step: Date/Time Dialog

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What you will learn:

to use the different types of input in dialog boxes to use Dialog Help to change the time and date to close a dialog box

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Start with: with Taskbar showing.

Screen Tips

1. Move your cursor over the time in the notification area and let it hover there a few seconds. You will see the date pop up in a screen tip.

   

   Screen tips are often available for icons and toolbar buttons.
    

2. Experiment: Move your mouse pointer over other things on the taskbar and on the desktop to see if they have a popup message for you. In Windows Vista, the Taskbar buttons for open windows show a thumbnail of the window if the Aero features are enabled. That can be quite useful!

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Open Date/Time Dialog: Win98 or WinXP

If you are working in Windows Vista, skip to the next set of steps, Open Date and Time Dialog (Vista)

1. Double-click the time on the Task bar.

   The Date/Time Properties dialog box appears. This dialog contains a calendar and a clock. From here you can change the computer's date and time.

   This is an example of a dialog box, also called just a dialog.

   

   Since all computers have a small battery inside to keep the clock running, even when unplugged, the time should not be off much unless the battery is getting old. (Or someone has been playing around!)

   It is important that the date and time be correct so that your files will have an accurate time stamp. You can also insert the date or time into a document. If the computer doesn't have the right date or time, neither will your document.

   The Windows 98 clock sometimes does not show the correct time. It seems to be related to programs that are working in the background. At this time no good solution has been announced.

   Don't leave this dialog open while you work! In older versions of Windows, if you leave this dialog open, the documents you save and the folders that you create are time stamped with whatever date and time are displayed in the dialog, even if you have not clicked the Apply button! Win XP and Vista seem to have fixed this dangerous behavior.

   Let's check out some of the parts of this window.
    

2. Click on the Dialog Help button . Your cursor changes to .
    
3.  Click on the a part of the window. A yellow screen tip box appears telling you what that part is for. While it is fairly obvious what is going on in this particular dialog box, others may not be so clear at first. Using the Help button can be really helpful!

   Notice that the Apply button is grayed out- the letters are gray instead of black. This means that this command is not available right now. The letters will go to black if you make a change in a setting.

4. Experiment by changing the date and time. The Apply button will change. Use each of the inputs to change the date and time. Clicking on a down arrow will either drop a list or scroll the selection to the next item on the list. For the time box you will have to either type in a time or select part of the time and use the arrows. The arrows will only affect one part of the time at a time.

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Open Date and Time Dialog: Windows Vista

1. Click the time on the Task bar. A calendar and clock appear.
    
   

   The Date and Time dialog appears. From the Date and Time tab you can change the date, time, or time zone. The tab Additional Clocks lets you display other time zones. The tab Internet Time lets you synchronize your computer's clock with an official time clock.
    

2. Click the button "Change date and time..."
     The Date and Time Settings dialog appears.
3. Experiment by changing the date and time.
   How to change the date:
      Day: Click the date.
      Month: Click left or right arrow to scroll one month. Click on the month-year to see all 12 months at once. Click on the month you want.
      Year: Click on the month-year and then on the year again to see a display of years. Click on the year you want.
   
   How to change the time: Type in a time or select part of the time and use the spin arrow to change the values. The arrows will only affect one part of the time at a time. As you change the values, the clock face will change to match.

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Accept Changes, or Not

There are several ways to get out of this dialog box.

1. Try out each of these methods, listed below.
   When you have tried all 4 methods, leave the dialog box closed. Be sure not to leave the time and date changed unless they were wrong to begin with.

   1. Clicking the Close button will not save your changes and closes the window.
   2. Clicking the OK button will save your changes and closes the window.
   3. Clicking the Cancel button will not save any changes and closes the window.
   4. Use the Tab key to move from part to part of the dialog box. When the OK or Cancel button is selected (highlighted with a color change or surrounded with a dashed box), press the ENTER key. The changes are saved with the OK button.

   WinXP and Windows Vista include another tab - Internet Time. On this tab you can reset your computer clock to match a standard clock at Microsoft or at NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). Of course, you must be connected to the Internet to do this. If your computer is connected nearly all the time, the clock will update weekly. There is a button that updates the clock right now.