User-Defined Date and Time Formats

To use a user-defined format for creating calendar dictionary element names, in the expression editor enter the line:

@[<user-defined format>]

where in brackets you specify the user-defined format.

The following table presents characters used to create user-defined date and time formats.

Character	Brief description
:	Time delimiter. Time delimiter separates hours, minutes, and seconds when formatting time values. The actual symbol used as a time delimiter in output is defined by the LocaleID system value.
/	Date delimiter. Date delimiter separates day, month, and year on formatting date values. The actual symbol used as a date delimiter in output is defined by locale settings.
%	It denotes that the next character must be read as a single-letter format without considering closing letters. It is also used to denote that a single-letter format is read as a user-defined format. For details see below.
d	It displays the day as a number without a preceding zero (for example, 1). Use %d if it is the only character in the user-defined numeric format.
dd	It displays the day as a number with a preceding zero (for example, 01).
ddd	It displays the name of the day as an abbreviation (for example, Tu).
dddd	It displays the name of the day in full (for example, Tuesday).
M	It displays the month as a number without a preceding zero (for example, 1). Use %M if it is the only character in the user-defined numeric format.
MM	It displays the month as a number with a preceding zero (for example, 08).
MMM	It displays the name of the month as an abbreviation (for example, Jan).
MMMM	It displays the name of the month in full (for example, January).
gg	It displays the era (for example, A.D.).
h	It displays hours as a number without the preceding zero using the 12-hour format (for example, 1:15:15 PM). Use %h if it is the only character in the user-defined numeric format.
hh	It displays hours as a number with the preceding zero using the 12-hour format (for example, 01:15:15 PM).
H	It displays hours as a number without the preceding zero using the 24-hour format (for example, 1:15:15). Use %H if it is the only character in the user-defined numeric format.
HH	It displays hours as a number with the preceding zero using the 24-hour format (for example, 1:15:15).
m	It displays minutes as a number without the preceding zero (for example, 12:1:15). Use %m if it is the only character in the user-defined numeric format.
mm	It displays minutes as a number with the preceding zero (for example, 12:01:15).
s	It displays seconds as a number without the preceding zero (for example, 12:15:5). Use %s if it is the only character in the user-defined numeric format.
ss	It displays seconds as a number with the preceding zero (for example, 12:15:05).
F	It displays fractional parts of a second. For example, ff displays the hundredth parts of a second, while ffff displays no less than the ten thousandth. In the user-defined format, it is possible to use up to seven f symbols. Use %f if it is the only character in the user-defined numeric format.
T	It uses the 12-hour format and displays AM in the upper case for any hour before midday. Displays PM in the upper case for any hour after midday and until 11:59 P.M.; use %t if it is the only character in the user-defined numeric format.
tt	It uses the 12-hour format and displays AM in the upper case for any hour before midday. Displays PM in the upper case for any hour after midday and until 11:59 P.M.
y	It displays the year (0-9) without preceding zeros. Use %Y if it is the only character in the user-defined numeric format.
yy	It isplays the year as two numbers with a preceding zero, if necessary.
yyy	It displays the year as four numbers.
yyyy	It displays the year as four numbers.
z	It displays the time shift between time zones without the preceding zero (for example, -8). Use %z if it is the only character in the user-defined numeric format.
zz	It displays the time shift between time zones with a preceding zero (for example, -08).
zzz	It displays the time shift between time zones in full format (for example, -08:00).

Format Examples

The table presents various examples of user-defined formats for December 7, 1958 at 35 seconds after 8:50 PM local time:

Specified format	Result
M/d/yy	12/7/58
d-MMM	7-dec
d-MMMM-yy	7-december-58
d MMMM	7 December
MMMM yy	December 58
hh:mm tt	08:50 PM
h:mm:ss t	8:50:35 P
H:mm	20:50
H:mm:ss	20:50:35
M/d/yyyy H:mm	12/7/1958 20:50