Welcome > Data module > Field formatters > Date formatter

Date formatter

Use the Date formatter to standardize date formats, so TotalAgility converts all dates into the same format, regardless of input format.

Date Detection

This group has the following options:

  • How to Handle Ambiguous Date Formats: If more than one date interpretation is possible, you can specify one of the following valid date options:

    • First valid date in list (Default)

    • Nearest valid date from today

    • Nearest valid date in the past

    • Nearest valid date in the future

  • Year Range: Enter or select the minimum and maximum year allowed on a document. (Default minimum: 1900, default maximum: 2100).

  • Treat Two Digit Dates Greater Than: Determine how to convert a two-digit year into a four-digit year. (Default: 40; with the default, all values from 00 to 40 are converted to 20XX, and 41 to 99 to 19XX.

  • Allow Empty Field: Select this option to allow an empty field to be valid. If this option is not selected empty fields are invalid.

  • Month Dictionary: Enter month names and numbers so that recognized month names are replaced with their corresponding numbers during formatting. For the best results, include full month names as well as common abbreviations with three or more characters.

    If you already have a list of month names and abbreviations that follow the required format, copy and paste them rather than typing them again. If you process documents in multiple languages, include month names and abbreviations in those languages.

    For full names, OCR fault tolerance is able to recognize up to two OCR errors. As a result, Jonuory is successfully recognized as January. For three-letter abbreviations, a single OCR error only is allowed.

    The required format is MonthName;MonthNumber with a single entry per line. Any entries that do not match this format are ignored. Entries are not case sensitive.

    For example, there is a Month Dictionary entry for January;01. During extraction, 26 Jonuary 2017 is extracted and then formatted to 26 01 2017.

  • Ambiguous Date Formats: Select the date formats that are found on the document. For example, (MM/DD/YYYY) (American date format) or (DD/MM/YYYY) (European date format). You can control the sequence of formats how they are evaluated by moving them up or down in the list - use the up and down arrows.

Note For the best result, place the most likely formats at the top of the list.
Date Output Format

This group has the following options:

  • Format: Select the desired date format from the list. (Default: DD/MM/YYYY (European date format)).

    Note Two digit year date output format is also available for use. It can be used with any or no delimiter.

  • Date Delimiter: Select the character to separate the components of a date. (Default "." )

  • Sample: This read-only field shows an sample date in the specified date output format.

Testing

To test the settings of a date formatter:

In the Sample Input text box, enter sample text and click Format. The output appears next to Formatted Text. For example, if the Format = DD/MM/YYYY and the Date Delimiter is "-", and if you enter 11/06/2015 as sample Text Input and click Format, the Formatted Text appears as 11-06-2015.

If TotalAgility cannot format the sample text, for example, if the sample input text is incorrect, a message appears.