[Don Marcaroni]

HOW TO INCLUDE BOTH TIME AND DATE IN TASKBAR:
Phase 1:
1) Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shell\
2) Create a binary value named "TBOpt" and set its value to "13 00 00 00".
3) Soft-reset
Note: If u ever get bored of the date display, rid it by deleting the TBOpt key.
Phase 2: IF U NEED THE CHANGE THE DATE FORMAT:
i) Just go to Settings>Regional Settings>Date>Short Date
ii) Choose "dd-MMMM-yy" or whichever format u prefer.
iii) Click "ok".

[Aficionado]

Dear all,

Just discovered my TBOpt value had been changed (prob by a tweaking program and prob for a long time already too), which appears simpler. Therefore, the following might be an easier and quicker tweak to do instead of the old method:
1) Open a registry editor (e.g. PHM or Resco).
2) Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shell\
3) Create a DWord value named "TBOpt" and set its value to "3".
4) Soft-reset.

Investigated somemore and found other types of displays:
1) Remove date and time althogether = Change TBOpt value to "0".
2) Display only Time = Change TBOpt value to "1".
3) Display only Date = Change TBOpt value to "2".
4) Display both Time and Date = Change TBOpt value to "3".

This is virtually useless, but the sequence is repeated as u increase the numbers accordingly:
1) Remove date and time althogether = Change TBOpt value to "4".
2) Display only Time = Change TBOpt value to "5".
3) Display only Date = Change TBOpt value to "6".
4) Display both Time and Date = Change TBOpt value to "7".
5) Remove date and time althogether = Change TBOpt value to "8".
6) So on...

Hope it was fun :smile:.

[grimicer]

thanks ! much easier than typing 13 00 00 00
though i've memorised that sequence already.

[Aficionado]

Dear all,

Always wanted to do this but was too lazy :sleep:. Did some reverse engineering :sneaky: and found how to tweak the registry to include the AM/PM notation for the time at the top taskbar to compliment the date/time tweak above.

As with all registry tweaks, PLEASE backup before trying.

How to include the AM/PM notation on the top taskbar:
1) Open your registry editor (either PHM Registry Editor or Resco Explorer 2003).
2) Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\nls\overrides
3) Create 1st String Value: Name = S1159 & String = Am
4) Create 2nd String Value: Name = S2359 & String = Pm
5) Create 3rd String Value: Name = STFmt & String = h:mm tM
6) Soft-reset.

Hope this is useful :smile:.

[iFiNi]

Hi Aficianado

Tried the above... THE AM/PM notation appeared on the task bar but found that the when I accessed my clock setting, it displayed A7 and P7 instead of AM and PM. It appeared as A1 and P1 when I accessed my alarm settings..

Just to let you know

[Aficionado]

iFiNi, on Jul 18 2005, 10:22 PM, said:

Tried the above... THE AM/PM notation appeared on the task bar but found that the when I accessed my clock setting, it displayed A7 and P7 instead of AM and PM. It appeared as A1 and P1 when I accessed my alarm settings..
Just to let you know

Bro iFiNi,

Heh, u seen the "side-effect" too :wink:. When I observed that earlier, I tried messing around with the registry further to see if I could restore back the AM/PM, but didnt have much luck.

Decided those was no big deal in the end :sneaky:.

:smile:

[vengence_angels]

hi..

how do i chge the display for the above tweak to 24Hr clock.. ?

[Aficionado]

vengence_angels, on Jul 24 2005, 10:15 PM, said:

how do i chge the display for the above tweak to 24Hr clock.. ?

Hi vengence_angels,

The following thread might help :wink::
- http://www.ppcsg.com...showtopic=55780

Good luck :smile:.

[Aficionado]

Angelsh, on Aug 18 2005, 05:32 PM, said:

You are really entering a value that goes to a binary key.

The value 3 in binary is '0000 0011'.
That means that the first bit (on the right side) is set to 1 and activates the time presentation in the task bar. The second bit activates the date presentation.

When you mention that there is a repeating sequence as u increase the numbers, this is not useless. What are u doing is changing other bits that has other meanings and functions.

For instance: Value 4: '0000 0100'  Date and time are not displayed since bits 1 and 2 are set to 0. But 3rd bit is set to 1. Don't know what is the meaning, but you can bet it has some function.

Accordingly, if you set a value of 7: '0000 0111' will display  date and time, but third bit is activated.

I don't recommend to play that way with the registry values since you may have unforecasted results. However if anybody knows the meaning of the other bits, it will be welcome.

Bro Angelsh,

Heh, u are quite right. Basically, what we are doing is just changing the bit values of the binary set. I left out that explaination of where those digital numbers arose bcos I thought it would be more platable for bros here = didnt want to provide any excessive information lest anyone falls asleep :wink:. However, I now see that I should have explained myself more clearly and I do apologise for any confusion caused :blush:.


------------

Anyway, let me iterate to all what Bro Angelsh meant:

For starters, the single digits I suggested to change the 'TBOpt' value to (i.e. 0, 1, 2, 3, ..., 8, etc) are really in 'decimal' mode = our normal numbers that we use.

However, in this particular case, these are converted to 'binary' mode for programming purposes. Binary numbers exist in sets of numbers, where each number is EITHER a '0' or '1' in value and is called a 'bit':
- '0' = bit is "off" or unactivated.
- '1' = bit is "on" or activated.

For simplicity, we shall just consider the 4 least significant bits (i.e. the last 4 numbers on the right side). For e.g., 0101 in binary:
- bit #1 (from left) = 0 (called the most significant bit)
- bit #2 = 1
- bit #3 = 0
- bit #4 = 1 (called the least significant bit)
This implies that bit #1 as well as the bit #3 are "off", while bit #2 and bit #4 are "on".

Converting decimal to binary isnt that complex actually, but might not be so important to understand here (anyway for those who are interested, lets look at converting binary to decimal first, just remember the reference number = '8421', e.g. '0101' in binary = bit #2 and bit #4 are "on" = add 4 and 1 together from the reference number, '8421' = 0101 in binary = 5 in decimal. Likewise, '1111' in binary = 8+4+2+1 from the reference number (as all bits are "on") = 15 in decimal. To convert binary to decimal, simplest methods are to work backwards using the '8421 method' or just to use a base calculator :sneaky:).
Decimal <=> Binary
0 = 0000 (bit #1 = 0, bit #2 = 0, bit #3 = 0, bit #4 = 0)
1 = 0001 (bit #1 = 0, bit #2 = 0, bit #3 = 0, bit #4 = 1)
2 = 0010 (bit #1 = 0, bit #2 = 0, bit #3 = 1, bit #4 = 0)
3 = 0011 (bit #1 = 0, bit #2 = 0, bit #3 = 1, bit #4 = 1)
4 = 0100 (bit #1 = 0, bit #2 = 1, bit #3 = 0, bit #4 = 0)
5 = 0101 (bit #1 = 0, bit #2 = 1, bit #3 = 0, bit #4 = 1)
6 = 0110 (bit #1 = 0, bit #2 = 1, bit #3 = 1, bit #4 = 0)
7 = 0111 (bit #1 = 0, bit #2 = 1, bit #3 = 1, bit #4 = 1)
8 = 1000 (bit #1 = 1, bit #2 = 0, bit #3 = 0, bit #4 = 0)
etc, etc

Now that we got those boring parts covered, lets go on to say that each binary bit represent an action. For our registry tweak of 'TBOpt':
0 = 0000 (bit #1 = 0, bit #2 = 0, bit #3 = 0, bit #4 = 0) = Remove date and time altogether
1 = 0001 (bit #1 = 0, bit #2 = 0, bit #3 = 0, bit #4 = 1) = Display only Time
2 = 0010 (bit #1 = 0, bit #2 = 0, bit #3 = 1, bit #4 = 0) = Display only Date
3 = 0011 (bit #1 = 0, bit #2 = 0, bit #3 = 1, bit #4 = 1) = Display both Time and Date
4 = 0100 (bit #1 = 0, bit #2 = 1, bit #3 = 0, bit #4 = 0) = Remove date and time altogether
5 = 0101 (bit #1 = 0, bit #2 = 1, bit #3 = 0, bit #4 = 1) = Display only Time
6 = 0110 (bit #1 = 0, bit #2 = 1, bit #3 = 1, bit #4 = 0) = Display only Date
7 = 0111 (bit #1 = 0, bit #2 = 1, bit #3 = 1, bit #4 = 1) = Display both Time and Date
8 = 1000 (bit #1 = 1, bit #2 = 0, bit #3 = 0, bit #4 = 0) = Remove date and time altogether
etc, etc.

From the above illustration, what happens is:
- the least significant bit (i.e. rightmost number) = controls the time ('1' = time on, '0' = time off)
- the 2nd least significant bit (i.e. 2nd number from the right) = controls the date ('1' = date on, '0' = date off)

If u guys havent fallen asleep by now :sneaky:, I think most should be able to see that only 2 bits are involved if we need to:
1) Display only Time = make sure that the least significant bit is '1'.
2) Display only Date = make sure that the 2nd least significant bit is '1'.
3) Display both Time and Date = make sure that the least significant bit and the 2nd least significant bit are both '1's.
4) Remove date and time altogether = make sure that the least significant bit and the 2nd least significant bit are both '0's.

Bro Angelsh doesnt like the part about changing the 3rd least significant bits, etc, bcos he is worried about unforecasted results and he is quite right to feel that way :happy:. Bits usually each have a function and could have adverse effects if wrongly manipulated.

------------


However, when I posted my findings about the continued sequence being useless much earlier, I had suspected the other more significant bits to be 'null bits' = not used at all. This arose bcos I had previously tested combos from '0' to '15' and had verified that there were no unwarranted problems by messing with alarms, time settings, regional time settings, etc, with each of these. As a matter of fact, I just realised that I am still using a TBOpt value of '15' (i.e. '1111' in binary = 2 extra bits activated) since May? = no ill effects yet.

Still, the section where I had previously included some time ago for changing TBOpt's values to either '4', '5', '6', '7', '8', etc, is hardly useful as '0', '1', '2', '3' will suffice.

:smile: