Windows XP Pro: The Missing Manual, Second Edition

Date and Time

Your PC’s conception of what time it is can be very important. Every file you create or save is stamped with this time, and every email you send or receive is marked with it. When you drag a document into a folder that contains a different draft of the same thing, Windows warns that you’re about to replace an older version with a newer one (or vice versa)—but only if your clock is set correctly.

This program offers three different tabs:

• Date & Time. To set the date, choose the month and year from the drop-down lists, and then click the correct calendar day square. To set the time, see Figure 8-7.

• Time Zone. This tab presents a world map—one that might tempt you to click to indicate your location on the planet. This display, too, is just for decoration; use the drop-down list above it to specify your time zone.

Figure 8-7. To specify the current time, don’t bother dragging the hands of the clock—they’re just for decoration. Instead, click numbers in the time box, and then change it by typing numbers, pressing the up or down arrow keys on your keyboard, or by clicking the tiny up or down arrow buttons. To jump to the next number for setting, press the Tab key.

• Internet Time. By “Internet Time,” Microsoft isn’t referring to the recent, fanciful notion of a single, global timekeeping system (in which each day is divided into 1,000 equal time units). Instead, this tab lets ...