# How to use ISO8601 date format in Tableau Desktop 2019.3

> This is content from just-tim, the data-and-analytics channel by Tim Ngwena (formerly 'Tableau Tim'). Tim has 12+ years of hands-on BI experience and covers Tableau most of all, plus Power BI, Looker, Hex, SQL and data modelling, the analytics industry, and the craft of doing the job — always tool-agnostic and honest about the trade-offs.

- **Author:** Tim Ngwena (just-tim, https://just-tim.com/about)
- **Published:** 2019-12-09
- **Format:** Video · transcript available
- **Topics:** Data visualisation
- **Tools:** Tableau (date properties, formatting)
- **Canonical:** https://just-tim.com/posts/how-to-use-iso8601-date-format-in-tableau-desktop-2019-3
- **Watch:** https://www.youtu.be/gEZy7B5YYjI

I show the new feature in Tableau Desktop 2019.3 that lets you set the default date format to the ISO 8601 standard. I walk through where to find the date properties option on your data source and how applying it greys out the other calendar controls.

## Key takeaways

- Tableau Desktop 2019.3 added the ability to set the default date format to the ISO 8601 standard, which enforces a consistent date format to avoid confusion
- To apply it, right-click your data source, go to Date Properties, and select ISO 8601 under the default calendar option
- Once ISO 8601 is selected the other date controls are greyed out because the standard already specifies a fixed format

Watch the full video, read the transcript and use chapter deep-links on the page: https://just-tim.com/posts/how-to-use-iso8601-date-format-in-tableau-desktop-2019-3

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just-tim — Data and analytics, with a point of view. · https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7HYxRWmaNlJux-X7rNLZyw · https://twitter.com/TableauTim · https://www.linkedin.com/in/timngwena