2000: The Year of Living Dangerously

Commercial Software: Blind Dates and Bad Data

While year 2000 hardware glitches get all the press, a bigger problem for most users may be commercial applications like those in Microsoft Office, Corel WordPerfect Suite, or Lotus SmartSuite. As with PCs, the older the software, the less likely it is to be up to speed on Y2K issues. And even if your applications are relatively new, you may still encounter problems because of the way you or your colleagues have entered data into them.

Of course, a lot depends on your operating system. If you're still using Windows 3.x, you're relying on old 16-bit applications. Unfortunately, few software vendors are updating 16-bit apps for year 2000 compliance. The Y2K bug could force you to make that operating system upgrade you've avoided for four years.

For Windows 95 and 98 users, the millennium bug is a less worrisome issue, though Windows 95 has one notable Y2K glitch: an old, Windows 3.1-style File Manager that can't properly display dates after December 31, 1999. If you still use File Manager, get fixes at support.microsoft.com/support/downloads. The version of File Manager that comes with Windows 98 doesn't need an upgrade.

Pivotal Decisions

Except for a handful of minor glitches, current versions of all major office suites and financial packages are year 2000 compliant. The real question is how careful you and your colleagues have been when entering data. If you've religiously entered four-digit years (1998, 1999) into your spreadsheets, databases, and accounting software, you probably have nothing to worry about. If you haven't, now is the time to fix those entries.

When you enter a two-digit year into Excel 97, for example, the program makes an assumption about whether the date intended is in the 1900s or the 2000s. Excel assumes that years from 00 to 29 are 2000 to 2029, while years from 30 to 99 are 1930 to 1999. If you type 1/15/29 into a cell, Excel will record this as January 15, 2029; enter 1/15/30, and you're back in 1930. The cutoff point between being back-dated to the 1900s or fast-forwarded to the 2000s--30 in our example--is called the pivot year.

All programs that handle dates have their own pivot years (see "Know Your Pivot Years"). One major exception is Access 95, which attaches a '19' to all two-digit years--though a fix is available at www.microsoft.com/technet. Pivot years vary from one program to the next, and even between different versions of the same package. For instance, Excel 97's pivot year is 30, but Excel 7.0's is 20. Enter 1/15/29 into Excel 7.0, and it will record the year as 1929.

The problem arises when your software accidentally assigns a date to the wrong century. Suppose you have a Lotus 1-2-3 97 spreadsheet that tracks employee retirement benefits. Lotus 97's pivot year is 50. If you enter a birth date of 1/15/34 for one of your employees, the program will say she was born in 2034.

Obviously, if you use formulas based on inaccurate dates--say, to calculate projected market growth or the interest on long-term loans--you'll get incorrect data. And you may not find out until it's too late.

Watch Those Apps

Fortunately, pivot dates are usually set far enough into the future that most of your data won't be adversely affected. But the only way to be sure is to inventory all your relevant data files, starting with spreadsheet, database, and accounting files. You'll also want to examine your schedulers and any other software that depends on date calculations.

The first thing you need to do is change Windows' default short-date format to display four-digit years. That will help you catch errors in your data files. To change this setting, click the Start button and select Settings, Control Panel. Double-click Regional Settings and click the Date tab. Change 'Short date style' to m/d/yyyy; then click OK and close Control Panel.

The next step is to pore over your key spreadsheet, accounting, and database files, looking for date information and formulas with date calculations. If you don't have time to examine all of your files, start with those that are vital to your business. Fortunately, several commercial packages can help you search for potential problems. The best we've found is Greenwich Mean Time UTA's Check 2000 PC Deluxe (see " Software to the Rescue"). This package will also check your BIOS for Y2K problems.

But realize that no program will solve all your Y2K woes. The only cure is to carefully check all the files you use to run your business--and keep checking them as you add new data.