Dates are entered and displayed in a format such that the month, day and year order is according to the preference specified under the Windows (operating system) Regional Options. Under the English (United States) setting, dates are specified in month/day/year order. Under the French (Canada) setting, dates are specified in year/month/day order. In all cases, the forward slash (/) is the character used as the separator within ProVal, regardless of the character separator specified in the Regional Options.

Dates are entered and displayed in a format where:

Month is an integer between 1 and 12,

Day is an integer between 1 and 31, and

Year is an integer between 1800 and 2200 (or between 00 and 99, if a two-digit year is entered).

See the comments below on entering two-digit years.

Examples of month/day/year order:

12/31/1992 equals December 31, 1992

3/4/2008 equals March 4, 2008

5/9/1892 equals May 9, 1892

Entering two-digit years:

If you specify a year by using two digits, this representation is converted automatically to a four-digit year falling in a "sliding window" range, such as 1930 to 2029. For example, 1/1/45 becomes 1/1/1945 and 1/1/01 becomes 1/1/2001. The window extends roughly 30 years into the future and 70 years into the past. It remains fixed for 10 years, then jumps ahead a decade. As of 1/1/1995, the window is from 1930 to 2029. On 1/1/2005 it will become 1940 to 2039. To specify a date outside the "sliding window" range, provide the full four digits of the year, as in 1/1/1898 or 1/1/2050.