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FormatDateTime()

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Dane Shea
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FormatDateTime() is a function that formats dates and time according to a date format and language.

 

Prerequisites

 
  • Admin right on Templafy tenant
  • Hive Dynamics Designer (Dynamics 2.0)

 

Syntax

There are two different syntaxes for FormatDateTime(), one taking 3 parameters and the second taking 5 parameters. The first syntax is if your date is already a Date object such as one that has been converted using DateValue() or coming from a date form field. The second syntax takes text values and converts them to a date object in the background and then formats the date. This is typically used for external systems such as Salesforce.

 

Syntax 1

The syntax if you already have your date as a date object. The Language is designated using a BCP 47 language tag and will determine the language used for expressing days and months.
The Format follows the .NET standard referenced in the article on date and time formats.

Syntax {{FormatDateTime(Date, Format, Language)}}
Input date, text, text
Output DateTime formatted according to format and language

 

 
  • The syntax {{FormatDateTime(Date, Format)}} can also be used.
    It will use the DocumentLanguage set in the user profile.
  • To prevent a character (e.g. a slash '/') from being interpreted as a format specifier, you can precede it with a backslash '\', which is the escape character (see example 4).

 

Example 1

Use a date form field to insert text in a text binding that formats according to dddd d MMMM yyyy for the en-US language. The language setting is expressed in the output being Thursday and November.

Binding {{FormatDateTime(Form.Date, "dddd d MMMM yyyy", "en-US")}}
Input Form.Date = 2020-11-12
Output "Thursday 12 November 2020"

 

Example 2

Use today's date that formats according to dddd d MMMM yyyy for the nl-NL language. 

Binding {{FormatDateTime(Now(), "dddd d MMMM yyyy", "nl-NL")}}
Input Today's date = 2020-11-12
Output "donderdag 12 november 2020"

 

Example 3

Use today's date that formats according to dddd d MMMM yyyy for the DocumentLanguage set in the user profile. 

Binding {{FormatDateTime(Now(),"dddd d MMMM yyyy", DocumentLanguage)}}
Input Today's date = 2020-11-12, DocumentLanguage = "nl-NL"
Output "donderdag 12 november 2020"

 

 
  • The binding {{FormatDateTime(Now(),"dddd d MMMM yyyy")}} can also be used.
    It will use the DocumentLanguage set in the user profile.
  • In the example above the formatting will always be "dddd d MMMM yyyy".
    If you want the formatting to be language dependent then use the Translate() function.
    See example 4 in that article (and the images on top of that page that show how the required data sources are configured).

 

Example 4

Using the FormatDateTime() function without the '\' escape character in the date format, the output will show a '-' when the language is Dutch ("nl-NL") and a '.' when the language is German ("de-DE"):

Binding {{FormatDateTime(Form.Date, "d/M/yyyy", DocumentLanguage)}}
Input Form.Date = 2022-3-17, DocumentLanguage = "en-US" Form.Date = 2022-3-17, DocumentLanguage = "nl-NL" Form.Date = 2022-3-17, DocumentLanguage = "de-DE"
Output 17/3/2022 17-3-2022 17.3.2022

 

If you want the date format to always show a '/' in the output, you have to use the '\' escape character in the binding:

Binding {{FormatDateTime(Form.Date, "d\/M\/yyyy", DocumentLanguage)}}
Input Form.Date = 2022-3-17, DocumentLanguage = "en-US" Form.Date = 2022-3-17, DocumentLanguage = "nl-NL" Form.Date = 2022-3-17, DocumentLanguage = "de-DE"
Output 17/3/2022 17/3/2022 17/3/2022

 

Example 5

Using the FormatDateTime() function in combination with Switch() to show 'st', 'nd', 'rd' or 'th' behind a date, depending on the day.

Binding {{FormatDateTime(Form.Date, "dddd, d", "en-US")}}{{Switch(FormatDateTime(Form.Date, "dd", "en-US"),"01","st","02","nd","03","rd","21","st","22","nd","23","rd","31","st","th")}} {{FormatDateTime(Form.Date, "MMMM yyyy", "en-US")}}
Input Form.Date = 2021-10-1 Form.Date = 2021-10-12 Form.Date = 2021-10-23
Output Friday, 1st October 2021 Tuesday, 12th October 2021 Saturday, 23rd October 2021

 

 
  • Note that in the second 'FormatDateTime' function a double dd is used (that searches for '01', '02' etc.). You need to use a double dd because a single d (without MMMM or yyyy) will return a short date.

 

Example 6

Using the FormatDateTime() function in combination with Now() to show the current time.

  • h = hour, using a 12-hour clock from 1 to 12.
  • hh = hour, using a 12-hour clock from 01 to 12.
  • H = hour, using a 24-hour clock from 0 to 23.
  • HH = hour, using a 24-hour clock from 00 to 23.
  • m = minute, from 0 through 59.
  • mm = minute, from 00 through 59.
  • s = second, from 0 through 59.
  • ss = second, from 0 through 59
  • fff = milliseconds
  • tt = AM/PM designator
Binding {{FormatDateTime(Now(), "hh:mm tt","en-US")}}
Input Now() = 9:05:24 AM Now() = 2:05:24 PM
Output 09:05 AM 02:05 PM

 

Binding {{FormatDateTime(Now(), "H:mm:ss","en-US")}}
Input Now() = 9:05:24 AM Now() = 2:05:24 PM
Output 9:05:24 14:05:24

 

Binding {{FormatDateTime(Now(), "ddMMyy-HHmmss.fff","nl-NL")}}
Input Now() = 17/11/2021, 9:05:24 AM Now() = 17/11/2021, 2:05:24 PM
Output 171121-090524.123 171121-140524.123

 

 
  • Displaying hours/minutes/seconds only works using the Now() function.
    If you would use e.g. 'Form.Date', then the result will always return zeros (or '12' if 'hh' is used for hours) as output.
  • When using Updater, the output is updated (showing the current time).
    When you want to show a unique number in a document, then the Now() function is a nice alternative to the Ticks() function which also shows a unique number, but is not updated when using Updater.
  • Instead of using 'fff' (for milliseconds) you can also use e.g. 'ffffff' for millionths of a second.
  • When using e.g. 'ffffff' as format specifier, be aware that if you use the same binding more than once in the document (including writing it to a document property), that the output per binding is different, as it takes time for Templafy to process each binding.

 

Syntax 2

The syntax if you need to convert text to a date object automatically in the background. ResultFormat and SourceFormat follow the .NET standard. ResultLanguage and SourceLanguage are designated by BCP 47 language tags and determine the input and output of days and months.

Syntax {{FormatDateTime(DateTimeText, ResultFormat, ResultLanguage, SourceFormat, SourceLanguage)}}
Input text, text, text, text, text
Output DateTime formatted according to format and region

 

Example 1

Converting a date from a text form field with a source format of MMM d'th,' yyyy with language en-US to a result format of dddd d MMMM yyyy with language nl-NL(Dutch)

Binding {{FormatDateTime(Form.SomeDates.Name, "dddd d MMMM yyyy", "nl-NL", "MMM d'th, ' yyyy", "en-US")}}
Input

Form.SomeDates.Name = Oct 22th, 2020

ResultFormat = "dddd d MMMM yyyy"
ResultLanguage = "nl-NL"
SourceFormat = "MMM d'th,' yyyy"
SourceLanguage = "en-US"
Output "donderdag 22 oktober 2020"

 

Example 2

You can also use FormatDateTime() in combination with a HostSystem binding, which is used for e.g. Salesforce, SharePoint or Document Creation Services 1.1. Depending on the type of date used in the host system (e.g. yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss or yyyyMMdd), you have to use the appropriate binding.

Binding {{FormatDateTime(HostSystem.Date, "d MMMM yyyy", "nl-NL", "yyyyMMdd", "nl-NL")}}
Input 20210308
Output "8 maart 2021"

 

Binding {{FormatDateTime(HostSystem.Date, "d MMMM yyyy", "nl-NL")}}
Input 2021-03-08T14:07:05
Output "8 maart 2021"

 

 

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