Microsoft Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure & Resource Center

Product Summary

Product: Works Version: 4.5a Category: Compliant Operating System: 32-Bit Win Language: Portuguese (Brazil) Release Date: 01 Sep 1998 Operational Range: - Prerequisites: None Product Dependencies: Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT 4.0 Internet Explorer 4 Clock Dependencies: System Clock Last Updated: 19 May 1999

Product Details

Product Maintenance: While Microsoft continues to recommend that customers install the most current Service Pack/Release for non-Year 2000 reasons, we understand that, for many reasons, this may not be possible. In order to aid our customersÆ Year 2000 efforts, Microsoft intends to maintain Works 4.5a as compliant through January 1, 2001. Newer Service Packs are also to be maintained as compliant, and may include additional non-Year 2000 updates. This is intended to minimize the Year 2000 as a reason to upgrade. This document applies to: Works for Windows 4.5a and Works Calendar 1.0 Operational Range for Data: Works for Windows 4.5a: 1/1/1900 through 6/3/2079. Works Calendar 1.0: 1/1/1900 through 12/31/2099 How the product handles dates: Storage. Microsoft Works 4.5a and the Calendar store dates in a serialized fashion starting with January 1, 1900 as serial value 1. For example, for either product, if the date 1/1/1901 is entered, Works 4.5a or the Calendar stores it internally with a value of 367 since this is the number of days since (and including) the serial starting point of January 1, 1900. If the date 6/1/1998 is entered, both Works 4.5a and the Calendar store it internally with a value of 35947 and so on, since this is the number of days since the starting point of 1/1/1900. In addition, Works 4.5a and the Calendar store 4-digit years in files even when entry uses only 2 digits. Parsing on date entry. If a date is entered with a 2-digit year (i.e. 6/1/98), Works 4.5a and the Works Calendar assume that the century for the year is 19xx if the 2-digit year value is between 30 and 99. If the 2-digit year value is between 0 and 29, Works 4.5a and the Works Calendar assume that the century for the year is 20xx. In addition, Works Calendar takes advantage of the Regional Settings Properties under the Date Tab in Control Panel in Windows 98, by reacting to the "Ending Date" which can be changed to suit the User. By changing this date the entire 100-year "window" changes forward or backward, and the range of 19xx and 20xx varies accordingly. This means that the century value for a 2-digit year entry can change from the rules described above if the User changes these settings in the Windows 98 Regional Settings control panel. (Only the Works Calendar takes advantage of this Windows 98 feature. Works 4.5a does not take advantage of this feature). Sorting. Works 4.5a and the Works Calendar sort on full years (4-digit dates) even if only 2 digits are displayed. Also, both the Works Calendar and Works 4.5a sort dates properly when some are prior to 2000 and some are after 2000. Leap Years. Works 4.5a and the Calendar execute leap years and displays 2/29 in appropriate years, including the year 2000 and after. Note: The year 1900 is not a leap year. However, in your testing you may notice Microsoft Works treats 1900 as a leap year. This algorithm was adopted to maintain compatibility with dates in Lotus 1-2-3, and is by design. The calculation for leap years used by the Gregorian calendar is as follows. If a year is evenly divisible by four, it is a leap year, unless the year is evenly divisible by 100. If a year is evenly divisible by 100, it is not a leap year, unless it is also evenly divisible by 400. Display. The Works 4.5a spreadsheet and database uses the concept of an edit format for dates. This format is a short date format with a four-digit year (i.e. mm/dd/yyyy) and is displayed when a date-formatted cell is selected or edited. For example, when a user navigates the spreadsheet and is currently on a cell with a date format that only displays 2-digits for the year value, the formula bar will display the date in the edit format which includes all 4 digits for the year. If the user places the cell into edit mode, the date is displayed in the edit format as well. This removes the century ambiguity of a two-digit year component. Two-digit shortcut handling: For both Works 4.5a and the Works Calendar, If the two-digit year value of a date falls between 30 and 99, that date is interpreted by Works as occurring in the century 19xx. (i.e. 1930 or 1999). If between 00 and 29 (or in the case of the Calendar, the value set in Control Panel:Regional Settings:Date Tab on Windows 98) the two-digit date is interpreted by Works as occurring in the century 20xx. Common date usage errors: The DATE() function is not designed to take 2-digit year shortcuts since it receives numeric parameters. The DATE() function calculates a number less than 1900 as an offset from 1900. So, if you were to enter a formula such as =DATE(15,1,1), the resulting date would be January 1, 1915, not 2015. The argument for the year value when using the DATE() function should always be entered as a 4-digit value. The new date parsing behavior described above in the "Parsing on date entry" section is different from previous versions of Works. Previous versions assumed that 2-digit year values occurred in the century 19xx. This new behavior is by design to make Works compliant with Year 2000 standards. Literal date parsing during calculations. Functions that use dates as an argument should reference cells that contain the dates stored as serial values rather than using a literal date value in the formula itself. A literal date is a date that is enclosed in single quotation marks, which Microsoft Works attempts to interpret literally as it is shown. For example, if you want to use the YEAR ( ) function to return the number of years since 1900 for the date 1/1/2025, you should store the argument date in a cell and then reference that cell in the formula (i.e. enter 1/1/2025 in cell A1 and then create the formula YEAR(A1) where you want the result displayed.). Additional Information: Users who work with dates in Microsoft Works will benefit from changing the system short date format to one that uses a 4-digit year, (i.e. "MM/dd/yyyy"). This change will allow the user to clearly see the century of a date. To change the system short date format, press the Start button, then select Settings, Control Panel, Regional Settings, select the Date page, then change the Short Date Style to a format that includes a 4-digit year by replacing the "yy" portion with "yyyy".

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ANY MICROSOFT YEAR 2000 STATEMENTS MADE TO YOU IN THE COURSE OF PROVIDING YEAR 2000 RELATED UPDATES, YEAR 2000 DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS, OR REMEDIATION SERVICES (IF ANY) ARE SUBJECT TO THE YEAR 2000 INFORMATION AND READINESS DISCLOSURE ACT (112 STAT. 2386). IN CASE OF A DISPUTE, THIS ACT MAY REDUCE YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS REGARDING THE USE OF ANY SUCH STATEMENTS, UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED BY YOUR CONTRACT OR TARIFF.

This site is being designated as a Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure and the information contained herein is provided pursuant to the terms hereof and the Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act.