Can you set a default date format?

[mara1618]

OO 2.2.0 / Windows XP

When I enter something that looks like a date into a Calc cell, it shows it in a DD/MM/YY format.

Can I set something up so that it uses a different format (eg DD-MMM-YYYY) as default for automatically recognised dates?

I notice that if I go to Format/Cells/Number tab/Date that DD/MM/YY is at the top of the date format list. Is this significant, and if so, how can I get a different format to the top of that list?

Thanks in advance for your help.

m

[Villeroy]

No, you can't. It is the nature of defaults to be applied if nothing else has been specified. Like Writer, Impress and Draw, Calc provides a powerful system of styles. In this case you want to work with cell-styles. Mind that no formatting will ever change or convert any value, so it does not really matter how your dates are formatted as long as the values are right. Select the respective range(s) and double-click your personal date-style in the stlyist when your sheet is ready for presentation.

[kingfisher]

To create, modify, delete and apply styles, use Format >Styles & Formatting (F11). Using styles is less demanding of memory than individually formatting each cell. If you use the same column for dates, you can apply the style to the whole column rather than to individual cells.