The Date Formatter is used to unify date formats, so all dates found in a batch, regardless of format, are extracted and converted to the same format.

Date Detection

This group has the following options:

Month dictionary

If available, you can select the desired dictionary from the list. Month dictionaries are used to convert dates that include the names of months to a numerical date format. The value for this option is set to <No dictionary> by default.

How to handle ambiguous date formats

If more than one date interpretation is possible, you can tell the formatter what date to use by selecting one of the following valid date options:

• First valid date in list. This is the default value for this option.

• Nearest valid date from today.

• Nearest valid date in the past.

• Nearest valid date in the future.

Min. year

Select the minimum year allowed on a document. The value for this option is set to 1900 by default.

Max. year

Select the maximum year allowed on a document. The value for this option is set to 2100 by default.

Treat two digit dates greater than

Use this option to determine how to convert a two digit year into a four digit year. The value for this option is set to 40 by default. It converts all values from 00-40 to 20XX and 41-99 to 19XX.

Allow empty field

Select this option to allow an empty field to be valid. If this option is not selected, and a field is empty, it is marked as invalid.

This option is cleared by default.

Ambiguous Date Formats

This group has the following options:

Select date formats that are found on the document. For example, select an American date format (MM/DD/YYYY) or a European date format (DD/MM/YYYY). You can use the arrow buttons to add or remove formats from the list of selected formats. You can also move formats up or down in the list, to determine the order of evaluation.

Tip For the best results, place the most likely formats at the top of the list.

Testing

To test the settings, enter some sample input text and click Format. The sample text is formatted per the settings and displayed in the output field. If the sample cannot be formatted per the settings, a warning or error message is displayed.

Date Output Format

This group has the following options:

Format

Select the desired date format from the list. The value for this option is set to the European DD/MM/YYYY date format by default.

Date delimiter

Select the desired character to separate the components of a date. The value for this option is set to . (period) by default.

Sample

This read-only field shows an example of a date using the specified date output format options.

Definitions for the buttons at the bottom of this window can be found in Common Project Builder Buttons.