Show dates in ISO format

dstillman
This discussion was created from comments split from: Changing format of date field.
  • hgunz
    At least some of the comment in the earlier threads was about the apparent impossibility of getting standalone English-language Zotero to show dates in ISO format, which is desirable partly because it's increasingly widely used, and partly because it avoids the ambiguity of the d/m/y and m/d/y formats (when is 7.6.2020, anyway?). Has there been any progress with this?
  • dstillman
    In the places where it displays formatted dates at all, Zotero will display dates in the default format for your locale. There are no plans to provide date customization within Zotero itself.

    In user-editable date fields, note that you can always enter ISO dates to avoid ambiguity, and many translators will save in ISO format for the same reason.

    In the future we'll likely provide a way to display a locale-formatted version of a cleanly parsed date (e.g., to avoid inconsistent formats in the Date column in the items list).
  • hgunz
    Yes, I appreciate that user-editable fields accept ISO, which is very helpful. The problem I'm having, and I don't think I'm alone, is that if the language is set to Automatic (English), then Zotero isn't picking up the appropriate date for the locale. Canada doesn't use the US format, but that's what appears in, for example, the "Date Added" field. I can force it to the Canadian format by setting language to English (UK). I guess what I'm wondering is whether, rather than be guided by locale, which seems to be problematic, is it possible for Zotero to use the default date format for the OS? I've no idea how other apps do it, but it seems pretty common for them to do it this way.
  • dstillman
    edited February 24, 2020
    OK, this should be fixed in the latest Zotero beta, and the fix will be included in Zotero 5.0.83 soon. (It was just a question of adding en-CA to the list of available locales to allow for date localization, even though no localized text is different.)
  • hgunz
    On behalf of my fellow Canucks, much appreciated; thanks.
  • dstillman
    Fixed now in Zotero 5.0.83. Thanks for reporting.
  • hgunz
    ...and working well. Thanks again.

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