Parse Date
This activity parses an input string into a DateTime variable.
Usage
The input expected by this activity will vary depending on whether or not you are using a default or custom date format. In either case, you must provide the Input String to parse. You can either enter a string or use a variable to parse.
If you want to use one of the default date formats, click the Input DateTime Format drop-down menu and choose a format. If you want to use a custom format, check the Use Custom Datetime Format check box and provide your own format as described in Custom Datetime Formats.
Note: When using the variable browser to select this activity’s output, be careful which variable you select. Every activity has a Start time and End time which represents when the activity itself started and stopped running. The output from the activity is in the Result variable.
Supported Date Formats
The following datetime formats can be used as input into this activity. You can also use a DateTime variable.
| Format Name | Example |
|---|---|
| ANSIC | Mon Jan 2 15:04:05 2018 |
| UnixDate | Mon Jan 2 15:04:05 MST 2018 |
| RubyDate | Mon Jan 02 15:04:05 -0700 2018 |
| RFC822 | 02 Jan 18 15:04 MST |
| RFC822Z | 02 Jan 18 15:04 -0700 |
| RFC850 | Monday, 02-Jan-18 15:04:05 MST |
| RFC1123 | Mon, 02 Jan 2018 15:04:05 MST |
| RFC1123Z | Mon, 02 Jan 2018 15:04:05 -0700 |
| RFC3339 | 2018-01-02T15:04:05-07:00 |
| RFC3339Nano | 2018-01-02T15:04:05.999999999-07:00 |
| Custom Formats | - 2018-01-02 - 02-01-2018 - 20180102-150405 - 02012018-150405 (European time format) Note: In European time format, 01 always stands for Month and 02 stands for Day. |
Custom Datetime Formats
You can define a custom DateTime format in the Format Date and Parse Date activities. Use the placeholder values defined below to create your own format. The elements used in the Custom DateTime Format and Original DateTime fields must match.
| Value Name | Example |
|---|---|
| LongMonth | January |
| Month | Jan |
| NumMonth | 1 |
| ZeroMonth | 01 |
| LongWeekDay | Monday |
| Weekday | Mon |
| Day | 2 |
| UnderDay | _2 |
| ZeroDay | 02 |
| Hour | 15 |
| Hour12 | 3 |
| ZeroHour12 | 03 |
| Minute | 4 |
| ZeroMinute | 04 |
| Second | 5 |
| ZeroSecond | 05 |
| LongYear | 2018 |
| Year | 18 |
| PM | PM |
| pm | pm |
| TZ | MST |
| ISO8601TZ | Z0700 |
| ISO8601SecondsTZ | Z070000 |
| ISO8601ShortTZ | Z07 |
| ISO8601ColonTZ | Z07:00 |
| ISO8601ColonSecondsTZ | Z07:00:00 |
| NumTZ | -0700 |
| NumSecondsTz | -070000 |
| NumShortTZ | -07 |
| NumColonTZ | -07:00 |
| NumColonSecondsTZ | -07:00:00 |
| FracSecond0 | .0, .00, .000 |
| FracSecond9 | .9, .99, .999 |
Here are some examples of custom formats and what input would be expected for December 1st, 2020 at 10:30 PM:
| Custom Format | Expected Input |
|---|---|
| January 01, 2018 03:04:05 PM | December 01, 2020 10:30:00 PM |
| 2 Jan 2018 15:04:05 | 1 Dec 2020 22:30:00 |
| 01-02-2018 | 12-01-2020 |
| 15:04:05 | 22:30:00 |
Sample Workflows
The following sample workflows are available in our repository’s workflows folder to help you get familiar with this concept. These can be imported using the instructions in Import Git Content or you can click the workflow to view it in GitHub.