In this step-by-step SharePoint Online tutorial, we will walk through everything you need to know about date formats in SharePoint Online. You will first understand how SharePoint displays dates by default and why the default format looks the way it does. Next, we will explore how you can change the date format at the site level to align with your regional settings or organizational standards.
Finally, we will take a deeper dive into advanced customization by demonstrating how to change the SharePoint date format using JSON formatting—allowing you to control how dates are displayed in lists and libraries with precision and consistency.
Default Date Format in SharePoint Online
When you create a new date column in SharePoint Online, the system automatically applies the MM/DD/YYYY format (Month/Day/Year). This is the standard format in the United States, but it may not align with your organization’s preferences, regional requirements, or international standards.
Here is an example of how the list column date format looks like below:
For example, if you’re working in India, the United Kingdom, or many other countries, you might prefer the DD/MM/YYYY or DD-MM-YYYY format. The good news is that SharePoint Online provides multiple methods to change date formatting to meet your specific needs without any coding complexity.
Consistent and appropriate date formatting is important as it improves user experience by displaying dates in familiar formats.
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Here are various methods to change the date format in SharePoint Online.
Method 1: Change Date Format Using Regional Settings (Site-Wide)
Regional settings provide the simplest and most effective way to change date formatting across your entire SharePoint site. This method affects all date columns on the site unless specifically overridden at the column level.
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Step 1: Open the SharePoint Online site where you want to change the date format. Click on the Gear icon located in the top-right corner of the page.
Step 2: From the dropdown menu, select Settings.
Step 3: Look for the SharePoint section and click on Site information.
Step 4: In the Site Information panel, you’ll see the option to View all site settings. Click on this link.
Step 5: This opens the Site Settings page. Under the Site Administration section, locate and click on Regional settings.
Step 6: The Regional Settings page displays several important options:
Time Zone: Select your standard time zone from the comprehensive list of available zones. This ensures that date and time stamps reflect your organization’s local time.
Region: This is the key setting for changing the date format. Click the dropdown and select your preferred locale. For example:
- Select “English (United States)” for MM/DD/YYYY format
- Select “English (United Kingdom)” for DD/MM/YYYY format
- Select “English (India)” for DD-MM-YYYY format
- Select “German (Germany)” for DD.MM.YYYY format
- You can also select other languages and regions based on your needs
Collation: Choose the sort order if you need to customize how content is alphabetically sorted.
Calendar: If required, you can select alternative calendar systems such as Hijri calendar or other non-Gregorian options.
Here is a screenshot for your reference:
Step 7: Once you’ve selected your preferred region and date format settings, scroll down and click the OK button.
The changes take effect immediately across your entire site. All date columns that use the default format will now display according to your selected regional settings. Here is a screenshot for your refernece.
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Method 2: Enable Friendly Date Format for Enhanced Readability
The “Friendly Format” option in SharePoint Online displays dates in a more human-readable, relative format. Instead of showing just the date number, it displays dates like “Today,” “Yesterday,” “5 days ago,” or specific day names and dates. This format significantly improves user experience by making date information more intuitive.
How to Enable Friendly Format:
Step 1: Navigate to your SharePoint Online list containing the date column you want to format.
Step 2: Click on the date column header to reveal column options. You’ll see a dropdown arrow next to the column name.
Step 3: From the dropdown menu, select Column settings.
Step 4: In the Column settings panel, locate and click the Edit option (usually represented by a pencil icon) like in the screenshot below:
Step 5: The Edit column window opens. Scroll down to find the Friendly format option.
Step 6: Toggle the Friendly format slider to Yes to enable this feature, like in the screenshot below:
Step 7: Click the Save button to apply the changes. Now, when you open a SharePoint list, the date will appear in a friendly format, like in the screenshot below:
How Friendly Format Displays Dates:
- Today’s date displays as “Today”
- Tomorrow’s date displays as “Tomorrow”
- Dates from 2-6 days ago display as “X days ago” (e.g., “3 days ago”)
- Dates from 2-6 days in the future display as “In X days” (e.g., “In 2 days”)
- Older dates and future dates beyond this range display in standard date format
This format is particularly useful for tracking deadlines, project milestones, and time-sensitive information where relative dates provide better context than absolute dates.
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Method 3: Advanced Custom Date Formatting Using JSON
If you want more advanced, custom date formatting for a SharePoint list or library column, you can use JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) formatting. JSON formatting allows you to create custom date formats, add conditional styling based on date values, display icons alongside dates, apply colors, and implement sophisticated business logic.
How to Apply JSON Date Formatting:
Step 1: Open your SharePoint Online list and locate the date column you want to format. Click on the column header dropdown and select Column settings. From the Column settings panel, click on Format this column.
Step 2: The Format column window opens. At the bottom of this window, click Advanced mode to access JSON formatting options.
Step 3: The default JSON code appears in the editor. Remove all the default code from the text box. Copy and paste the following JSON code to format dates using local locale settings:
{
"$schema": "https://developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/sp/v2/column-formatting.schema.json",
"elmType": "div",
"children": [
{
"elmType": "div",
"txtContent": "=toLocaleDateString(@currentField)"
},
{
"elmType": "div",
"style": {
"padding": "0 2px"
}
}
]
}
Step 4: Click the Save button to apply the JSON formatting. Now, when you open the SharePoint list, you can see the date format as shown in the screenshot below.
This JSON code uses the toLocaleDateString() function, which automatically formats dates according to the browser’s locale settings, providing a localized and appropriate date display.
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Advanced JSON Formatting Examples (SharePoint List Date Column)
Now, let me show you some advanced JSON formatting examples that you can apply to a SharePoint list or library date column.
Example 1: Display Date with Time Information
Use this JSON to display both date and time in localized format:
{
"$schema": "https://developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/sp/v2/column-formatting.schema.json",
"elmType": "div",
"children": [
{
"elmType": "div",
"txtContent": "=toLocaleString(@currentField)"
}
]
}Example 2: Conditional Styling Based on Date Values
This example highlights upcoming dates (within 7 days) in red and other dates in green:
{
"$schema": "https://developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/sp/v2/column-formatting.schema.json",
"elmType": "div",
"children": [
{
"elmType": "div",
"txtContent": "=toLocaleDateString(@currentField)",
"style": {
"color": "=if(@currentField < addDays(today(), 7), 'red', 'green')",
"font-weight": "bold",
"padding": "5px"
}
}
]
}This is useful for deadline tracking, where urgent dates stand out visually to users.
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Example 3: Display Month and Year Only
Use this format when you only need to display the month and year in a SharePoint list date column:
{
"$schema": "https://developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/sp/v2/column-formatting.schema.json",
"elmType": "div",
"children": [
{
"elmType": "span",
"txtContent": "=text(@currentField, 'mmmm yyyy')"
}
]
}Example 4: Date with Custom Prefix Text
Add custom text before the date to provide context:
{
"$schema": "https://developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/sp/v2/column-formatting.schema.json",
"elmType": "div",
"children": [
{
"elmType": "span",
"txtContent": "='Due: ' + toLocaleDateString(@currentField)"
}
]
}Read SharePoint List View Formatting by JSON Using Lookup Value
Dates Not Displaying Correctly After Regional Setting Changes
If sometimes the dates don’t update after changing regional settings, try these solutions:
- Clear your browser cache (Ctrl+Shift+Delete on Windows, Cmd+Shift+Delete on Mac)
- Close and reopen the SharePoint list
- Try opening the list in an incognito or private browser window
- Sign out and sign back in to your Microsoft 365 account
- Wait a few minutes for changes to propagate through the system
JSON Formatting Not Applying or Showing Errors
If your JSON code doesn’t work, you can try the following things to fix the issue.
- Verify JSON syntax is valid using the validation feature in Advanced mode
- Check for common errors like mismatched brackets or quotes
- Ensure you’re using the correct function names (toLocaleDateString, not toLocaleDate)
- Make sure the column type is Date or DateTime
- Clear the browser cache and refresh the page
Conclusion
Date formatting in SharePoint Online directly impacts usability, compliance, data clarity, and professional presentation of your lists. SharePoint Online provides three main approaches: regional settings for site-wide standardization, friendly formatting for improved readability, and JSON-based formatting for advanced customization.
By using these three methods, you can ensure that date information in your SharePoint environment is always aligned with your organizational requirements. Start with regional settings for consistency, add friendly formatting where it enhances user experience, and implement JSON formatting for specialized tracking needs.
You may also like the following tutorials:
- SharePoint Calculated Column Date Examples
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After working for more than 18 years in Microsoft technologies like SharePoint, Microsoft 365, and Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI), I thought will share my SharePoint expertise knowledge with the world. Our audiences are from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, etc. For my expertise knowledge and SharePoint tutorials, Microsoft has been awarded a Microsoft SharePoint MVP (12 times). I have also worked in companies like HP, TCS, KPIT, etc.
