silverstripe-framework/docs/en/02_Developer_Guides/03_Forms/02_DateField.md

DateField

Introduction

This FormField subclass lets you display an editable date, either in a single text input field, or in three separate fields for day, month and year. It also provides a calendar datepicker.

Adding a DateField

The following example will add a simple DateField to your Page, allowing you to enter a date manually.

:::php
class Page extends SiteTree {
	private static $db = array(
		'MyDate' => 'Date',
	);

	public function getCMSFields() {
		$fields = parent::getCMSFields();
		
		$fields->addFieldToTab(
			'Root.Main',
			$myDate = new DateField('MyDate', 'Enter a date')
		);
		
		return $fields;
	} 
}	

Custom Dateformat

You can define a custom dateformat for your Datefield based on Zend_Date constants.

:::php
// will display a date in the following format: 31-06-2012
DateField::create('MyDate')->setConfig('dateformat', 'dd-MM-yyyy'); 

Caution: If you're using natural language date formats like abbreviated month names alongside the "showcalendar" option, you'll need to ensure the formats between the calendar widget and the SilverStripe validation are consistent. As an example for the 'de' locale, check framework/thirdparty/jquery-ui/datepicker/i18n/jquery.ui.datepicker-de.js and compare it to framework/thirdparty/Zend/Locale/Data/de.xml (see <calendar type="gregorian"> in the XML data).

Min and Max Dates

Set the minimum and maximum allowed datevalues using the min and max configuration settings (in ISO format or strtotime() compatible). Example:

:::php
DateField::create('MyDate')
	->setConfig('min', '-7 days')
	->setConfig('max', '2012-12-31')

Separate Day/Month/Year Fields

The following setting will display your DateField as three input fields for day, month and year separately. Any custom dateformat settings will be ignored. HTML5 placeholders 'day', 'month' and 'year' are enabled by default.

:::php
DateField::create('MyDate')
	->setConfig('dmyfields', true)
	->setConfig('dmyseparator', '/') // set the separator
	->setConfig('dmyplaceholders', 'true'); // enable HTML 5 Placeholders

Formatting Hints

Its often not immediate apparent which format a field accepts, and showing the technical format (e.g. HH:mm:ss) is of limited use to the average user. An alternative is to show the current date in the desired format alongside the field description as an example.

:::php
$dateField = DateField::create('MyDate');
// Show long format as text below the field
$dateField->setDescription(sprintf(
	_t('FormField.Example', 'e.g. %s', 'Example format'),
	Convert::raw2xml(Zend_Date::now()->toString($dateField->getConfig('dateformat')))
));
// Alternatively, set short format as a placeholder in the field
$dateField->setAttribute('placeholder', $dateField->getConfig('dateformat'));

Note: Fields scaffolded through [api:DataObject::scaffoldCMSFields()] automatically have a description attached to them.

Calendar Field

The following setting will add a Calendar to a single DateField, using the jQuery UI DatePicker widget

:::php
DateField::create('MyDate')->setConfig('showcalendar', true);

'Safe' Dateformats to Use with the Calendar

The jQuery DatePicker doesn't support every constant available for Zend_Date. If you choose to use the calendar, the following constants should at least be safe:

Constant	xxxxx
d	numeric day of the month (without leading zero)
dd	numeric day of the month (with leading zero)
EEE	dayname, abbreviated
EEEE	dayname
M	numeric month of the year (without leading zero)
MM	numeric month of the year (with leading zero)
MMM	monthname, abbreviated
MMMM	monthname
y	year (4 digits)
yy	year (2 digits)
yyyy	year (4 digits)

Calendar localization issues

Unfortunately the day- and monthname values in Zend Date do not always match those in the existing jQuery UI locale files, so constants like EEE or MMM, for day and monthnames could break validation. To fix this we had to slightly alter the jQuery locale files, situated in /framework/thirdparty/jquery-ui/datepicker/i18n/, to match Zend_Date.

At this moment not all locale files may be present. If a locale file is missing, the DatePicker calendar will fallback to 'yyyy-MM-dd' whenever day- and/or monthnames are used. After saving, the correct format will be displayed.

Contributing jQuery Locale Files

If you find the jQuery locale file for your chosen locale is missing, the following section will explain how to create one. If you wish to contribute your file to the SilverStripe core, please check out the guide on 'contributing code'.

1. Get the Sourcefile

You can find a list of locale files for the jQuery UI DatePicker in the jQuery source code.

2. Find your Zend Locale File

The Zend locale files are located in /framework/thirdparty/Zend/Locale/Data/. Find the one that has the information for your locale.

3. Find the Date Values

You're looking for the Gregorian date values for monthnames and daynames in the Zend locale file. Edit the DatePicker locale File so your full day- and monthnames and short monthnames match. For your short daynames, use the first three characters of the full name. Note that Zend dates are case sensitive!

4. Filename

Use the original jQuery UI filename 'jquery.ui.datepicker-xx.js', where xx stands for the locale.