How do I set default date format in Writer?

users
#1

How can I set the date format in Writer so that whenever I select
INSERT->FIELDS->DATE it will insert a hard
December 31, 1999 (for example) instead of the 12/31/99 which is totally
inappropriate for correspondence.
Having to re-specify INSERT->FIELDS->OTHER->DATE->DATE(fixed)->December 31,
1999 every time is just plain annoying.
Even better would be to add a menu item of just INSERT->Datef that would do
the job.
Using LO 4.1.3.2 now, previous versions had the same problem.
Frank

#2

HI,

I think you must go to Insert>Field>Other (CTRL+F2). In the Fields window, Document tab, Date>select Date(fixed)>Format then Insert

#3

Hi,

How can I set the date format in Writer so that whenever I select
INSERT->FIELDS->DATE it will insert a hard
December 31, 1999 (for example) instead of the 12/31/99 which is totally
inappropriate for correspondence.
Having to re-specify INSERT->FIELDS->OTHER->DATE->DATE(fixed)->December 31,
1999 every time is just plain annoying.
Even better would be to add a menu item of just INSERT->Datef that would do
the job.

From what you have written, inserting a date with an expanded format is a repeated action, so you would be better suited to crafting a template including the fixed date field, formatted with the expanded format, and then saved. That way, you should only have to do it once for any given template.

Of course, the above doesn't answer the question as to how you could obtain a default insertion of the expanded date - from what I can see, this could only be possible via a macro that you would then have to associate with a custom entry in your Insert menu (or somewhere else in the menu structures via Tools > Customize). There seems to be no way to call that formatting function directly, although it must be in the underlying code somewhere. Perhaps the macro recorder would let you record the steps to reach the required formatting, which you could then save and execute after customising your menu structure ?

Alex

#4

I wish too, have a configurable date format. I inspected a document created with the following ad-hoc date format:

  domingo, 1 de diciembre del 2013

The date is registered with the following local style, not available in the style list.

   <number:date-style style:name="N106">
    <number:day-of-week number:style="long"/>
    <number:text>, </number:text>
    <number:day/>
    <number:text> de </number:text>
    <number:month number:style="long" number:textual="true"/>
    <number:text> del </number:text>
    <number:year number:style="long"/>
   </number:date-style>

The date field can't be saved in his fixed format as an automatic replaceable string of characters. I guess that the best approach is have a macro that inserts the date with the desired format and this macro is run when we create a paragraph with a style 'date', for instance.