Mac PowerPoint uses GetTime and GetDateTime to get the current time from the system. These are toolbox routines that return the number of seconds from Jan 1, 1904. These values are only used for inserting the current time into the document or to fill out the Properties dialog. Mac PowerPoint uses the system's internal timer for timing slide show, rehearsals, and cursor handling. These Mac toolbox routines use the system's script resources to provide all the formatting information.
All date calculations goes through the same function.
User entry is text only and not considered a date representation. There is no conversion for user entry. Opening Microsoft PowerPoint 98 files in Microsoft PowerPoint 4 for the Macintosh with the use of post-ship import converters may result in an incorrect date format. To work around this incorrect display, do not use 2-digit year formats when selecting 'update automatically'. Another workaround is to open the presentation in PowerPoint 98 and resave it in the Microsoft PowerPoint 4 file format.