Text to Date
Create a date and time from the contents of a text string to a specified format.
For most standard formats, this function isn't necessary. You can pass any standard date and time text string into a date input to have it converted automatically. This function is for non-standard or ambiguous formats, for example, if the value is 2/1, that might be read as 1-Feb or 2-Jan.
Input
| Field | Definition | Type | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
|
start |
Text to be converted to a date and time value. |
Text |
TRUE |
|
format |
Date format code of the input value for the start field. |
Text |
FALSE |
Output
| Field | Definition | Type |
|---|---|---|
|
output |
Date object that corresponds to the start input value based on the specified format code. |
Date & Time |
Format Codes
Build the format for the date or time format that you want. Use any combination of these codes along with fixed characters, such as slashes and commas.
| format codes | output |
|---|---|
|
D |
For a day number (in the month), or use DD to always display the day using two digits. |
|
M |
For a single month number, or use MM to use two digits. |
|
MMM |
For a three letter month abbreviation, or use MMMM for the full month name. |
|
Y |
For a four-digit year number, or use YY for a two-digit year number. |
|
h |
For the hour number (1-12), or use hh to use two digits. |
|
H |
For the hour number (0-23), or use HH to use two digits. |
|
mm |
For the minutes. |
|
ss |
For the seconds. Add an .S to include milliseconds, for example, ss.SSS. |
|
a |
For am or pm designation, or use A for AM or PM. |
|
Z |
For the time zone in offset format, for example, -07:00. You can also use z for code, for example, PDT. |
|
d |
For the day of the week, where 1 is Monday. Use ddd for an abbreviated day format, for example, Mon. Use dddd for the full day name, for example, Monday. |
|
x |
For a time stamp in "unix in milliseconds" format. This is defined as the count of milliseconds since Jan 1, 1970 at midnight GMT. |
|
X |
For a time stamp in "unix in seconds" format, also known as the "epoch" or "unix timestamp". This is defined as the count of seconds since Jan 1, 1970 at midnight GMT. |
Examples
| start | format | output |
|---|---|---|
|
1/2/2016 |
D/M/Y |
2016-02-01T00:00:00.000Z |
|
1/2/16 |
M/D/YY |
2016-01-02T00:00:00.000Z |
|
1493053116 |
X |
2017-04-24T16:58:36.000Z |