Format Date/Time

 

Updated: May 13, 2016

Applies To: System Center 2012 SP1 - Orchestrator, System Center 2012 - Orchestrator, System Center 2012 R2 Orchestrator

The Format Date/Time activity enables you to transform existing date and time formats into custom formats that you create.

Configuring the Format Date/Time Activity

Before you configure the Format Date/Time activity, you need to determine the following:

  • The existing date and time format you want to transform.

  • The new date and time format you want it to become.

Use the following information to configure the Format Date/Time activity.

Details Tab

Settings Configuration Instructions
Date/Time Type the time that you want to convert.
Format Type the format of the time that you want to convert. See the Date/Time Format Codes table for format codes and examples.
Format Type the format that you want to convert the input time to.
Output Adjustments Type a number in any of the following fields to adjust the output time from the input time. For example, if the input time is coming from a server that is three hours ahead of your local time, type -3 in the Hours field to set the output time (your local time) to three hours behind the input time. If the input time is three hours behind your local time, type 3 to set the output time to three hours ahead of the input time.

You can adjust the output time using the following time units:

Days

Months

Years

Hours

Minutes

Seconds

To specify a date/time format, you must enter the codes that represent each part of the date and time.

Date/Time Format Codes

Code Description
y The last digit of the year. For example, 2005 would be represented as 5.
yy The last two digits of the year number. For example, in this format 2005 would be represented as 05.
yyyy The year number in four digits. For example, in this format 2005 would be represented as 2005.
M Month as a number from 1 to 12. If the month number is a single-digit number, it is displayed without a leading zero.
MM Month in two digits. If the month number is a single-digit number, it is displayed with a leading zero.
MMM The name of the month in three letters. For example, August would be represented as Aug.
MMMM The name of the month spelled in full. This format is supported only for output time. Note: This format is only supported for the output format.
d Day as a number from 1 to 31. If the day number is a single-digit number, it is displayed without a leading zero.
dd Day in two digits. If the day number is a single-digit number, it is displayed with a leading zero.
ddd The abbreviated name of the day of the week in three letters. For example, Saturday is abbreviated as “Sat”.
dddd The full name of the day of the week. For example, Saturday is displayed in full. Note: This format is only supported for the output format.
h Hour as a number from 1 to 12 when using the 12-hour clock. If the hour number is a single-digit number, it is displayed without a leading zero.
hh Hour in two digits using the 12-hour clock. If the hour number is a single-digit number, it is displayed with a leading zero.
H Hour as a number from 0 to 23 when using the 24-hour clock. For example, in this format 1 pm would be represented as 13. If the hour number is a single-digit number, it is displayed without a leading zero.
HH Hour in two digits using the 24-hour clock. For example, in this format 1 pm would be represented as 13. If the hour number is a single-digit number, it is displayed with a leading zero
m Minutes as a number from 0 to 59. If the minute number is a single-digit number, it is displayed without a leading zero.
mm Minutes in two digits. If the minute number is a single-digit number, it is displayed with a leading zero.
s Seconds as a number from 0 to 59. If the second number is a single-digit number, it is displayed without a leading zero.
ss Seconds in two digits. If the second number is a single-digit number, it is displayed with a leading zero.
tt A.M. or P.M. as two letters: A.M. or P.M. as defined on your system.

Here are some examples of dates and times and their corresponding format:

Format Date
MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss tt 08/05/2006 03:05:15 PM
M/d/yy h:m:s tt 8/5/06 3:5:15 PM
ddd MMM dd yyyy Sat Aug 05 2006
dddd, MMMM dd yyyy Saturday, August 05 2006

Published Data

The following table lists the published data items.

Item Description
Format Result The result of the format in the specified form.
Format Result without adjustments The formatted result, but without any adjustments made to it.
Input Time The input time.
Input Format The format of the date and time that was entered as the input time.
Output Format The format of the date and time that was entered as the output time.