Expressing times

Dates and times
Expressing dates and times in a clear and unambiguous way helps support writing for a global audience and reduces confusion.

Expressing times

In general, use the following guidelines to format expressions of time:

• 
  Use the 12-hour clock, except if required to use a 24-hour time, such as when documenting features that use 24-hour time. If the UI, a command, or a code sample uses the 24-hour format, use that format throughout the page for consistency.
  
• 
  Use exact times when possible, but noon and midnight are OK.
  
• 
  Use hyphens in time ranges. Don't add spaces before or after the hyphens.
  

Recommended: 5-10 minutes ago.

• 
  Capitalize AM and PM, and leave one space between it and the time.
  

Recommended: 3:45 PM.

• 
  Remove the minutes from round hours.
  

Recommended: 3 PM.