Tweaking the Time and Date Display

The date and time section on the taskbar is one of the most valuable screen displays that are available on every Windows machine. It is visible from wherever you are on the desktop environment and serves as a quick reference whenever you need some information about the current time and date in your area. This section of the Windows operating system is easily set upon installation and the time and date automatically syncs to the Windows time server. However, there would be times that you would need to make some changes to the time and date settings especially when you are travelling somewhere else. In this tutorial, you will be learning some steps in changing the time and date settings on your Windows 8.1 machine and get acquainted with some other tweaks for managing this aspect of the Windows system like a boss.

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Accessing the Date and Time Settings Window

Just like any other aspect of the Windows operating system, the time and date section is also capable of being accessed in different ways. You can access it directly from the system tray of the taskbar or if you want a detailed list of the tweaks that you can do with it, you will need to access it from the Control Panel section but first, let’s tackle the easy one.

Getting to it from the System Tray

You can see the time and date right directly on your computer’s system tray located at the extreme-right end of the taskbar. The setting for this important display is simply accessed by clicking or tapping on it. After you do so, you will see a small screen that would appear which shows the calendar of the current month and as well as a clock showing the present time. At the bottom of this screen, there is a link that says “Change date and time settings…” which you can click to access the Window which will give you access to the settings and tweaks which you can do to the time and date display.

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Getting to it from the Control Panel

Another way of accessing the Date and Time settings Window is through the Control Panel. To access the Control Panel Window, press on the Windows + I keys to open the Settings screen then click on the “Control Panel” link on top of it.

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Another way of getting to the Control Panel Window is by pressing the Windows + X keys to access a small screen that contains a hidden menu. Once this small screen appears, simply click on the Control Panel link that is included in it. Once you are on the Control Panel Window, simply click on the “Clock, Language and Region” menu. Once it opens in a Window, simply click the “Date and Time” submenu to open the Date and Time Window.

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The Date and Time Settings Window

After learning to access the Date and Time settings Window, you will need to get familiar with the tabs options and tweaks that are in it. To manually set the date and time display on the system tray, all you need to do is click on the button that says “Change date and time…” located at the right portion of the Window.

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After doing so, another Window will appear which will now give you access to the date and time adjustment Window. To adjust the month, simply use the arrow right and arrow left icons on top of the calendar to move to the month that you want to view then select the date that you want to set. Opposite to the calendar is the clock where you can do the adjustments on. To do this, simply click inside the input box below the clock and change the aspect of time (hour, minute, seconds, AM/PM) that you want to set. Once you are done changing the Date and Time to your desired one, simply hit the “OK” button at the bottom.

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There are other options that you can tweak for the date display which you can easily access by clicking on the “Change calendar settings” link near the bottom-left part of the screen.

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Changing the Time Zone

Setting the time zone in the date and time settings Window will help you adjust everything into the current date and time in your country or region. This is a lot easier to do than adjusting them individually. To access the time zone adjustment section of the date and time settings Window, simply click on the “Change time zone…” button just below the “Change date and time…” button which you clicked earlier and on the Window that appears, simply select from the available time zones by clicking on the drop-down options box.

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All of these settings that we have tweaked are located under the “Date and Time” tab. As you can see, there are two other tabs on top of the Date and Time settings Window. They are the “Additional Clocks” and the “Internet Time” tabs. Let’s see what other tweak are under each one of them.

The Additional Clocks Tab

Click on the “Additional Clocks” tab on top of the Date and Time Window and its contents will show up on the contents pane. Take a closer look on it and you will see that you can actually add two more clocks to the time and date display of the taskbar. Simply mark the check box that says “Show this clock” for each additional clock and adjust the time zone for it.

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The Internet Time Tab

Try clicking on the Internet Time tab and you’ll see another option for syncing the current time on your computer to that of the one in the Windows time server. This is a more accurate time than what’s on your wall clock at home or that which is on your wristwatch. If you want to sync with the Windows time server, simply click on the “Change settings…” button and on the small Window that appears, simply put a check mark on the box that says “Synchronize with an Internet time server” then hit the “Update now” button. Finally, you can click on the “OK” button once you’re done syncing the time settings to the “time.windows.com” time server.

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Get Your Time Updated All the Time

If you’re the type of Windows user who needs access to an accurate time setting then you can sync to other time servers available under the Internet Time tab, simply select the time server that you want your machine to sync with and hit the same buttons that you clicked earlier. As you can see, Windows is equipped with some options that will help you get the time and date display accurate and personalized all the time. By doing the tweaks I’ve shown above, you’ll be able to be sure that your machine is displaying the right time and you can always check with it whenever you have a schedule set on a date at an exact time. Make it even more reliable by updating the time regularly using the options available the Internet Time tab.