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

title	summary
DateField	How to format and use the DateField class.

DateField

This FormField subclass lets you display an editable date, in a single text input field. It implements the HTML5 input date type (with type=date). In supported browsers, this will cause a localised date picker to appear for users. HTML5 date fields present and save ISO 8601 date formats (y-MM-dd), since the browser takes care of converting to/from a localised presentation. Browsers without support receive an <input type=text> based polyfill.

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

app/code/Page.php

use SilverStripe\Forms\DateField;
use SilverStripe\CMS\Model\SiteTree;

class Page extends SiteTree 
{
    private static $db = [
        'MyDate' => 'Date',
    ];

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

Custom Date Format

A custom date format for a DateField can be provided through setDateFormat. This is only necessary if you want to opt-out of the built-in browser localisation via type=date.

// will display a date in the following format: 31/06/2012
DateField::create('MyDate')
    ->setHTML5(false)
    ->setDateFormat('dd/MM/yyyy'); 

[info] The formats are based on ICU format. [/info]

Min and Max Dates

Sets the minimum and maximum allowed date values using the min and max configuration settings (in ISO format or strtotime()).

DateField::create('MyDate')
    ->setMinDate('-7 days')
    ->setMaxDate('2012-12-31')

Formatting Hints

It's 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.

$dateField = DateField::create('MyDate');

// Show long format as text below the field
$dateField->setDescription(_t(
    'FormField.Example',
     'e.g. {format}',
     [ 'format' =>  $dateField->getDateFormat() ]
));

// Alternatively, set short format as a placeholder in the field
$dateField->setAttribute('placeholder', $dateField->getDateFormat());

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

API Documentation

• DateField