Change the format of Date&Time to 12 hour or 24 hour

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Change the format of Date&Time to 12 hour or 24 hour

Published: 22 Apr 2022
Last Modified Date: 09 Dec 2022

Question

In Tableau Desktop and Tableau Prep Builder, the date and time may be displayed in 12-hour or 24-hour format, depending on the date format setting og the computer.

For example, the date&time field is stored as 24-hour format in the database: 2022-04-01 13:00:02 but if the date format setting on the computer is 12-hour, Tableau will show 1/4/2022 1:00:02 PM. Vice Versa.
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How to make the format of the date&time field in Tableau align with the database?

Environment

Tableau Desktop
Tableau Prep Builder
Windows
MacOS
MySQL, Excel, etc.

Answer

Option 1: change the date format setting on the computer
Mac
1. Go to System Preference > Date & Time > select Language & Region
2. Tick or untick Time format 24-Hour Time
3. Refresh or reopen Tableau Desktop/Prep

Windows
1. Go to Settings > Time and Language > select Region > click Change Data Formats
2. Select Long Time or Short Time.
3. Refresh or reopen Tableau Desktop/Prep

Option 2: Use Custom Date Format
For more information, see Custom Date Formats