Returns a formatted date/time value. If no mask is specified, DateFormat function returns date value using the dd-mmm-yy format.
See also Now, CreateDate, and ParseDateTime.
DateFormat(date [, mask ])
Date/time object in the period from 1601 AD to 9999 AD.
Set of characters that are used to show how ColdFusion should display the date:
d
-- Day of the month as digits with no leading zero for single-digit days.
dd
-- Day of the month as digits with a leading zero for single-digit days.
ddd
-- Day of the week as a three-letter abbreviation.
dddd
-- Day of the week as its full name.
m
-- Month as digits with no leading zero for single-digit months.
mm
-- Month as digits with a leading zero for single-digit months.
mmm
-- Month as a three-letter abbreviation.
mmmm
-- Month as its full name.
y
-- Year as last two digits with no leading zero for years less than 10.
yy
-- Year as last two digits with a leading zero for years less than 10.
yyyy
-- Year represented by four digits.
gg
-- Period/era string. Currently ignored, but reserved for future use.
When passing a date/time value as a string, make sure it is enclosed in quotes. Otherwise, it is interpreted as a number representation of a date/time object, returning undesired results.
Note | On UNIX, there is a switch that provides fast date-time parsing. If you have enabled this switch, you must refer to dates in expressions in the following order: month, day, and year. For example: |
<CFIF "11/23/1998" GT "11/15/1998">
If this switch is set, the default date format returned by the DateFormat() function cannot be parsed in an expression. However, if you specify a mask, indicating the correct order, such as, mm/dd/yyyy, the date returned by this function can be parsed.
The Fast Date/Time Parsing switch is set on the ColdFusion Administrator Server Settings page. Please refer to Administering ColdFusion Server for more information about ColdFusion settings.
<!--- This example shows the various types of output possible with DateFormat ---> <HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE> DateFormat Example </TITLE> </HEAD> <CFSET todayDate = Now()> <BODY> <H3>DateFormat Example</H3> <P>Today's date is <CFOUTPUT>#todayDate#</CFOUTPUT>. <P>Using DateFormat, we can display that date in a number of different ways: <CFOUTPUT> <UL> <LI>#DateFormat(todayDate)# <LI>#DateFormat(todayDate, "mmm-dd-yyyy")# <LI>#DateFormat(todayDate, "mmmm d, yyyy")# <LI>#DateFormat(todayDate, "mm/dd/yyyy")# <LI>#DateFormat(todayDate, "d-mmm-yyyy")# <LI>#DateFormat(todayDate, "ddd, mmmm dd, yyyy")# <LI>#DateFormat(todayDate, "d/m/yy")# </UL> </CFOUTPUT> </BODY> </HTML>