How to change the date format of a SOLIDWORKS PDM Vault

In this post you will learn how to change the date format of a SOLIDWORKS PDM Vault and why the change may be required.

The reason for a SOLIDWORKS PDM Vault date change could be because:

• The date format defined during the creation of the vault is incorrect.
• A company has decided to change the date format that will be used.
• Or there is a mismatch between date formats in a data card.

Data Card Date Mismatch

I want to first talk about a mismatch between date formats in a data card before I explain how to change the date format in SOLIDWORKS PDM. In some scenarios, when creating a data card, there is a Date Field that can be applied to a control.

In the Date Field Properties, a date is generally assigned Text Value or Today’s Date as a Default Value.

Default Value for Date Field Properties

Today’s Date will pull the date from Windows. All other options, including Text Value, will pull the date from PDM. One solution for a date mismatch is to modify the Windows Date Format through the Windows Control Panel.

Changing Date Format in Windows

The other is to change the date format of the PDM vault.

Changing the date format in SOLIDWORKS PDM

To change the date format of the PDM vault, in PDM Administration, right-click on the vault and select Properties

Accessing Vault Properties

In the File Vault Properties dialogue box, a new date format can be selected from the Date Format pull-down.

Changing Date Format through Vault Properties

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