Date Component

Function

a!dateField( label, instructions, required, readOnly, disabled, value, validations, saveInto, validationGroup, requiredMessage, align, labelPosition, helpTooltip, accessibilityText, showWhen )

Displays and allows entry of a single date (year, month, day). When the field is editable, users can input dates by typing or by picking from a calendar.

When working with date and time (year, month, day, hour, minute, second), use a date & time component. To display a time (hour, minute, second), use a time component. To display a read-only date using a custom format, use a text component.

Parameters

Name	Keyword	Types	Description
Label	label	Text	Text to display as the field label.
Instructions	instructions	Text	Supplemental text about this field.
Required	required	Boolean	Determines if a value is required to submit the form. Default: false.
Read-only	readOnly	Boolean	Determines if the field should display as not editable. Default: false.
Disabled	disabled	Boolean	Determines if the field should display as potentially editable but grayed out. Default: false.
Display Value	value	Date	Date to display in the field.
Validations	validations	List of Text String	Validation errors to display below the field when the value is not null.
Save Input To	saveInto	List of Save	One or more variables that are updated with the date when the user changes it. Use a!save() to save a modified or alternative value to a variable.
Validation Group	validationGroup	Text	When present, the requiredness of the field is only evaluated when a button in the same validation group is pressed. The value for this parameter cannot contain spaces. For example, “validation group” is not a valid value. You need to add an underscore between words: “validation_group”. See the following recipes for more information: Configure Buttons with Conditional Requiredness Validation Groups for Buttons with Multiple Validation Rules'
Required Message	requiredMessage	Text	Custom message to display when the field's value is required and not provided.
Alignment	align	Text	Determines alignment of the date value. Appian recommends this setting only be used inside the Grid Layout component. Valid values: "LEFT", "CENTER", "RIGHT".
Label Position	labelPosition	Text	Determines where the label appears. Valid values: "ABOVE" (default) Displays the label above the component. "ADJACENT" Displays the label to the left of the component. "COLLAPSED" Hides the label. The label will still be read by screen readers; see accessibility considerations for more information. "JUSTIFIED" Aligns the label alongside the component starting at the edge of the page.
Help Tooltip	helpTooltip	Text	Displays a help icon with the specified text as a tooltip. The tooltip displays a maximum of 500 characters. The help icon does not show when the label position is "COLLAPSED".
Accessibility Text	accessibilityText	Text	Additional text to be announced by screen readers. Used only for accessibility; produces no visible change.
Visibility	showWhen	Boolean	Determines whether the component is displayed on the interface. When set to false, the component is hidden and is not evaluated. Default: true.

Usage considerations

Calendar and date formatting

• The date is shown in the current user's time zone and calendar format.
• If you want to display a date with formatting other than the default, use the Text Field component.

Keyboard shortcuts

• When focused on the calendar, selecting the P key will go to the previous month, the N key will go to next month, the T key will select today's date, and the Delete key will clear the value in the field.

Examples

Use the interactive editor below to test out your code:

Date with only a label

Date with a validation

Feature compatibility

The table below lists this component's compatibility with various features in Appian.

Feature	Compatibility	Note
Portals	Compatible
Offline Mobile	Compatible
Sync-Time Custom Record Fields	Incompatible
Real-Time Custom Record Fields	Incompatible	Custom record fields that evaluate in real time must be configured using one or more Custom Field functions.
Process Reports	Incompatible	Cannot be used to configure a process report.
Process Events	Incompatible	Cannot be used to configure a process event node, such as a start event or timer event.

Related Patterns

The following patterns include usage of the Date Component.

• Add Validations to an Inline Editable Grid (Validation, Grids, Looping): Allows the user to change data directly in a grid, and validate a various entries.

• Add, Edit, and Remove Data in an Inline Editable Grid (Grids, Looping): Allow the user to change data directly in an inline editable grid.

• Build a Wizard with Milestone Navigation (Wizards): Use the milestone component to show steps in a wizard.

• Build an Interface Wizard (Wizards): Divide a big form into sections presented one step at a time with validation.

• Configure Buttons with Conditional Requiredness (Validation): Present two buttons to the end user and only make certain fields required if the user clicks a particular button

• Disable Automatic Refresh After User Saves Into a Variable (Auto-Refresh): Automatically update a variable when its dependencies change until the user saves their own value into that variable.

• Refresh Data After Executing a Smart Service (Auto-Refresh, Smart Services):

• Set the Default Value of an Input on a Start Form (Default Value): Display a default value in some form inputs on a start form, and save the value into the process when submitting.

• Track Adds and Deletes in Inline Editable Grid (Grids): In an inline editable grid, track the employees that are added for further processing in the next process steps.

• Use Links in a Grid to Show More Details and Edit Data in External System (Grids, Web Services): Allow end users to click a link in a read-only grid to view the details for the row, and make changes to the data.

• Use Selection For Bulk Actions in an Inline Editable Grid (Grids): Allow the user to edit data inline in a grid one field at a time, or in bulk using selection.

• Use Validation Groups for Buttons with Multiple Validation Rules (Validation): Present two buttons to the end user that, based on the selection, will validate only after a particular button is clicked.

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