XL2000: Two-Digit Year Displayed When You Type a Four-Digit Year

• Microsoft Excel 2000

SYMPTOMS

When you type a date that includes a four-digit year, Microsoft Excel only displays two digits for the year. This behavior occurs even if the Short date style setting (on the Date tab under Regional Settings in Control Panel) is set to display four-digit years.

CAUSE

This behavior may occur when the cell in which you type the date is formatted with the General number format.

RESOLUTION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

To resolve this problem, add the EnableFourDigitYearDisplay entry to the Windows registry. To do this, follow these steps:

1. On the Start menu, click Run. In the Open box, type regedit. Click OK.



2. In the left pane, click the plus signs (+) to the left of the following items (in order):




HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Software
Microsoft
Office
9.0
Excel

3. In the left pane, click the Options folder.



4. On the Edit menu, point to New and then click DWORD Value.



5. Type EnableFourDigitYearDisplay, and then press ENTER.



6. Double-click the EnableFourDigitYearDisplay icon.



7. In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.

Additional query words: XL2000 y2k

Keywords : kb2000
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb