date format does not follow system format

variable
I understand that zotero attempts to follow the system date format for e.g. "date added" or "date modified". I don't see this being the case.

On
macOS 13.3 (22E252)
Zotero version 6.0.23

With these relevant settings
```
∴defaults read ~/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences AppleICUDateFormatStrings
{
1 = "y-MM-dd";
}
∴defaults read NSGlobalDomain AppleICUDateFormatStrings
{
1 = "y-MM-dd";
}
```

I expect to see the date format to be ISO-8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD) but instead see what looks like "M/D/Y")

Is this expected? Is there a way to fix this?
  • floriand
    +1 for feature that allows to change the date format structure (e.g. like noted when entering for example: '9/6/2021' to be interpreted either as 6 September or 9 June)
  • dstillman
    For technical reasons, Zotero currently follows the date format of the system/selected locale, not any custom system date settings. E.g., the Chinese locale will use y/m/d.
    (e.g. like noted when entering for example: '9/6/2021' to be interpreted either as 6 September or 9 June)
    This is bit of a different issue. Zotero will parse ambiguous dates based on your locale. Unless you're using en-US or a few others, it should parse as d/m rather than m/d.
  • variable
    > Zotero currently follows the date format of the system/selected locale, not any custom system date settings

    Is there an open bug tracker for this? It seems wrong. m/d/y is confusing especially as nothing else on my system uses it and it quite atypical to read.

    Note that I'm not asking for custom date formats in Zotero (as nice as that would be) but for Zotero to actually follow the system format as described in other forum threads and its documentation.
  • adamsmith
    (FWIW, you can decide to run Zotero in English (UK) to get d/m/y in an English interface)
  • variable
    edited April 16, 2023
    @adamsmith which locale gives ISO-8601 dates with English text? I want YYYY-MM-DD. d/m/y is weird too.
  • adamsmith
    Sorry, no English local uses YYYY-MM-DD
  • andselisk
    I'm using portable Zotero on PCs with various locales (US/UK, CN, RU) and inconsistency in displayed date formats is highly counterproductive and annoying.

    So, how do I permanently fix the format used by Zotero to display fields such as "Date Added" so that it always follows ISO-8601 convention for dates and 24-hour format for time, i.e. uses the following notation?

    YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
  • FeralFlora
    Like @variable and @ andselisk, I too would love to use the ISO-8601 date format.
  • LordRust
    Agree with the above. Zotero follows the display language of my Windows system and not the regional settings in the OS. I ended up needing to switch the Zotero interface to Swedish for the correct dates. It is better to have the interface in the wrong language than the dates... English (ISO) would be great
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