Date time format numbers ipad

albuquerque_ed wrote:

My spreadsheet is just too big to delete and reenter all the dates. It is simply a cosmetic issue that I will just have to live with.

I'm curious why you've come to that conclusion, especially in the face of clear evidence to the contrary (see my screenshots above).😀

No one has suggested deleting and reentering all dates. if you're having trouble getting the formats in existing cells to adjust (even after selecting 24-Hour Time and other settings in my screenshots above), then on the Mac insert a new blank column, make sure all formats are cleared out of it by selecting the cells in the new column and hitting <delete>, then format those new cells with Date & Time with the leading zeros as I've shown above. Then you can select your existing dates, command-c to copy, and in the new column Edit > Paste and Match Style. Then, with cells still selected, make sure Date & Time is still applied in the dropdown in the panel on the right.

On the iPad, if you're entering dates de novo you need to make sure 24-Hour Time is turned on at Settings > General > 24-Hour Time (both on the Mac and iOS you HAVE done that as shown above, right?), and then you go through essentially the same process as described in a prior post to make sure new date-time strings are displayed with your desired format. Sometimes when you've changed settings the cells flip back to 'Automatic' so you need to go back in change back to 'Date & Time'.

I assure you that my times in Numbers for iOS do display with a leading zero. So they can for you too!

I'm a little shocked that someone who can navigate Brand-X and Linux would be stymied by simple settings like this!😀 And that someone who started with an Apple II and a Tandy TRS-80 (and maybe even before that had a Digi-Comp as a kid) would suggest this can't be done.😀

SG

albuquerque_ed wrote:

GOD bless you SGIII. YOU SOLVED THE PROBLEM!!!

Thanks for the scolding—-it brought me back to my senses.

The trick was changing the system to 24-Hour Time under General.  I then selected my date-time column in the spreadsheet and reformatted using the pick list.  This also answered another question, why were our pick lists different.  With the system on 24 hr time you have a different pick list with the option to select time with a leading zero.  

I know this is just being picky but it seems to me that having to change system wide time format in order to format a cell in a spreadsheet is excessive.  The spreadsheet should be smart enough to know that if I enter 0800 in a time formatted

Glad you were abled to produce the result you want. Yes, it's certainly a little too tricky sometimes to get the desired format. I stumbled on 24-Hour Time by accident some time ago. You might consider giving feedback to Apple via Numbers > Provide Numbers Feedback in your menu. You are most unlikely to get a response from them. But the feedback is collected and, from what have been able to observe over the years, sometimes is used to make Numbers easier to use.

SG

albuquerque_ed wrote:

I have done exactly what you suggested but get different results ...t he pick list you show in your response is different than the pick list my iPad provides to me. 

On your Mac go to File > Advanced > Language & Region and check what you have for that document. I have:

Also go to System Preferences > Language & Region and check what you have. I have:

And, behind the Advanced ... button:

It may take a little fiddling on your end (on the Mac; I think Numbers on the iPad takes its cue from the settings you have applied to the document on the Mac). Anyway, I can say with confidence that Numbers on the Mac and on the iPad can give you the display that you want, so don't give up. Because that's what I have here, as you can see from my screenshots. (Numbers 11 on Mac, 11 on iPad, MacOS 11.2.3. And I'm pretty sure this was the same pre Big Sur.)

SG

Numbers for the Mac and Numbers on the iPad are very similar.

On the iPad just select the cells you want to format, then the format "paintbrush", then the circled i next to Date & Time and make selections like these:

In Numbers for the Mac, select the cells, choose Date & Time in the Data Format dropdown under the Cell tab at the right, and select the format you want.

On my Mac and on the iPad I have no trouble getting two-digit time:

SG

albuquerque_ed wrote: So my blood runs Apple red.

Having started with a Mac SE, your hair is likely turning Apple gray/silver now. I started out on an Apple II (the Plus model I believe it was) and a Radio Shack TRS 80.

I looked at Numbers on my iPhone. I saw no custom formatting and, like you, no option that turns on that leading zero. I also tried the iCloud version of Numbers. I saw no custom formatting there either nor any option that would display a leading zero.

I think SGIII has found the reason ours are different from his. It is a simple change on a Mac. I don't know about on iOS.

Maybe you could get that custom format into your document if you get the opportunity to open/save your document on a Mac.

Hi Ed,

On my iPhone, I see the same options as you have for Time (no leading zero for minutes).

Also in Numbers for iOS, I see no option for a Custom Format in cells.

Perhaps my iPhone is running an older version. Or perhaps my Region (Australia) does not provide those Date & Time options.

However, following on from Badunit's reply:

"This is the Numbers for Mac forum. I see no built-in format for the Mac version that has a 2-digit hour (i.e., with a leading zero when required) but you can create a custom date format that does. Can you do the same on the iOS version?"

Here is a Custom Format in Numbers for Mac. Perhaps other users will reply with a way to transfer that Custom Format from Mac to iOS. Sorry, but I can't show Date & Time as mm/dd/yy hh:mm (for example, 03/25/2021,) so I used DD MMM YYYY. Perhaps that is another Region difference 🤔.

good luck!

Regards,

Ian.

This is the Numbers for Mac forum. I see no built-in format for the Mac version that has a 2-digit hour (i.e., with a leading zero when required) but you can create a custom date format that does. Can you do the same on the iOS version?

BTW, if you’re working on a cell that already has the “incorrect” format (no leading zero) you probably need to clear out all the formatting in the cell by “deleting“ (on the Mac hit <delete>). Then after you change the settings as shown in screenshots above, then apply the Date & Time data format you want (with the leading zero).

SG

SGIII,

I get different results than you on my Mac. I get no leading zero on the time using what appears to be the same format.