How to show shorter time and date in Taskbar on Windows 11

If you want to make a little more space in the System Tray, you now have an option to shorten the date and time on Windows 11.

Windows 11 shorter time and date
Windows 11 shorter time and date / Image: Mauro Huculak
  • To show a shorter time and date in the Taskbar, open Settings > Time & language > Date & time, click “Show time and date in the System tray,” and check “Show abbreviated time and date.”
  • Alternatively, open Control Panel > Clock and Region > Format > Advanced settings > Time and set the “H:mm” option for the “Short time” setting, and then from the “Date” tab, set the “Short date” to “M/d.”

On Windows 11, you can show a shorter format for the time and date available through the Taskbar System Tray, and in this guide, I will show you how.

The ability to customize the regional format (more specifically, the time and date) in the Taskbar has been available for a long time, but it was a customization you needed to perform with multiple steps from the “Region” settings. However, starting with the release of build 22635.3930, Windows 11 includes an option that makes it easier to display a shorter version of the date and time in the System Tray.

If you want to change the format of the clock area in the Taskbar, you can use the “Date & time” or “Region” settings from the Control Panel on Windows 11.

In this guide, I will explain how to enable the abbreviated format for time and date from the Settings app and Control Panel.

Show shorter time and date format in Taskbar from Settings

To display shorter time and date format in the Taskbar on Windows 11 build 22635.3930 and higher releases, use these steps:

  1. Open Settings on Windows 11.

  2. Click on Time & language.

  3. Click the Date & time page.

  4. Click the “Show time and date in the System tray” setting.

    Show time and date in the System tray

  5. Check the “Show abbreviated time and date” option.

Once you complete the steps, the System Tray will display hours and minutes without the AM or PM annotation, and the date will appear as month and day (in the United States) without the year part.

If the option isn’t available and you want to shorten the format, you can use the Control Panel.

Show shorter time and date format in Taskbar from Control Panel

To configure the time and date settings to make them shorter through the legacy Control Panel, use these steps:

  1. Open Start.

  2. Search for Control Panel and click the top result to open the app.

  3. Click on Clock and Region.

  4. Click the Region setting.

    Control Panel Region settings

  5. Click the Formats tab.

  6. Click the Advanced settings button.

    Region Advanced settings

  7. Click the Time tab.

  8. Choose the “H:mm” option in the “Short time” setting.

    System Tray short time setting

  9. Click the Date tab.

  10. Confirm the “M/d” format for the “Short date” setting.

    System Tray short date setting

  11. Click the Apply button.

  12. Click the OK button.

After you complete the steps, the Taskbar clock area will display a shorter version of the time and date.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert and founder of (est. 2010). With over 21 years as a technology writer and IT Specialist, Mauro specializes in Windows, software, and cross-platform systems such as Linux, Android, and macOS.

Certifications: Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA), Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), VMware Certified Professional (VCP), and CompTIA A+ and Network+.

Mauro is a recognized Microsoft MVP and has also been a long-time contributor to Windows Central.

You can follow him on YouTube, Threads, BlueSky, X (Twitter), LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].