Custom Date Format

When you connect to a datasource, Zoho Analytics automatically interprets the data type of the columns in the table and assigns the same accordingly. Similarly, the existence of a date column in the data that you are importing into Zoho Analytics is auto-identified and an appropriate date format is assigned. If in some cases, the date columns are not auto-identified correctly, you can either choose the date column from the default list provided or create a custom date format to suit your needs.

This Date Format guide briefs you about how to construct a custom date format.

Setup the date format from Import Wizard

While importing data into Zoho Analytics, Zoho Analytics assigns a date format to the column containing the date. You can change the format of the applied date if required. To do so,

  1. In Step 3 of Import Wizard, click Format of Date column(s) drop-down menu.
  2. In the Choose your date format pop-up page, you can either choose from the list of available options or provide a custom format in the Enter your date format if it is not listed above text box.

Setup the date format from Import Wizard

You can set the date column format for a column in an existing table in Zoho Analytics. To do so,

  1. Open the required table in Zoho Analytics.
  2. Right-click on the column containing the date. A list of all possible activities with the column will open.

  1. Select Format Column.

  1. In the Format Column pop-up page, you can either choose from the list of available options or provide a custom format in the Enter your date format if it is not listed above text box.

Reference Table - Date Format String:

The following table captures all the format strings (or abbreviations) and their meanings for your reference. Note that you could also provide any special characters (slash, comma, hypen etc.,) as part of the format strings to capture such characters that could be part of your date value.

Format StringMeaningExample
yyIndicates Year value without century.
If the value is from 70 to 99, year is assumed in 20th century (1970, 1971... 1999).
Anything other than this is taken to be in the 21st century.
14 (means 2014),
08 (means 2008).
yyyyIndicates Year value with century2014
MMIndicates Month value in numeric3 (means March),
11 (means November)
MMMIndicates Month value as a 3 letter string abbreviation (Jan, Feb)Jan, Feb
MMMMIndicates Month value in full stringJanuary, February
ddIndicates Day in the month12, 31
EEEIndicates Day in the week (abbreviation)Wed, Sun
EEEEIndicates Day in the week (full string form)Wednesday, Sunday
HHIndicates Hours in a day between 0 to 23 hrs13:50, 20:20
hhIndicates Hours in a day between 1 to 12 hrs (morning or afternoon is identified by AM or PM)1:30, 11:30
mmIndicates Minutes in the hour1:30
ssIndicates Seconds in the minute11:30: 30
SSSIndicates the Millisecond in the Date11:30:30. 163
aIndicates AM/PM of the time11:00 am, 2:00 pm
zIndicates Time zone based on either GMT or country specific time zone abbreviationNov 24, 2014 10:00 pm GMT +5:30
Nov 24, 2014 10:00 pm PST
ZIndicates Time zone based RFC 822 standardNov 24, 2014 +0530
Nov 24, 2014 -0247
MILLIIndicates number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970911899079000

Example 1:

Date: 11/24/2014
Format String to be given: MM/dd/yyyy
11MMIndicates the month part
24ddIndicates the day part
2014yyyyIndicates the year part

Example 2:

Date: 11.24.2014
Format String to be given: MM.dd.yyyy
11MMIndicates the month part
24ddIndicates the day part
2014yyyyIndicates the year part

Example 3:

Date: Nov 24, 2014 02:47 PM
Format String to be given: MMM dd, yyyy hh:mm a
NovMMMIndicates the month part
24ddIndicates the day part
2014yyyyIndicates the year part
02hhIndicates the hour part (01-12)
47mmIndicates the minute part
PMaIndicates the AM/PM part

Example 4:

Date: Nov 24, 2014 14:47
Format String to be given: MMM dd, yyyy HH:mm
NovMMMIndicates the month part
24ddIndicates the day part
2014yyyyIndicates the year part
14HHIndicates the hour part (00-23)
47mmIndicates the minute part

Example 5:

Date: November 24, 2014
Format String to be given: MMMM dd, yyyy
NovemberMMMMIndicates the month part
24ddIndicates the day part
2014yyyyIndicates the year part

Example 6:

Date: Nov 24, 2014 02:47 PM GMT +5:30
Format String to be given: MMM dd, yyyy hh:mm a z
NovMMMIndicates the month part
24ddIndicates the day part
2014yyyyIndicates the year part
02hhIndicates the hour part (01-12)
47mmIndicates the minute part
PMaIndicates the AM/PM part
GMT +5:30zIndicates the time zone

Example 7:

Date: Nov 24, 2014 02:47 PM PST
Format String to be given: MMM dd, yyyy hh:mm a z
NovMMMIndicates the month part
24ddIndicates the day part
2014yyyyIndicates the year part
02hhIndicates the hour part (01-12)
47mmIndicates the minute part
PMaIndicates the AM/PM part
PSTzIndicates the time zone

Example 8:

Date: Wednesday, 24-Nov-98 14:47:59.163
Format String to be given: EEEE, dd-MMM-yy HH:mm:ss.SSS
WednesdayEEEEIndicates weekday part
24ddIndicates the day part
NovMMMIndicates the month part
98yyIndicates the year part
14HHIndicates the hour part (00-23)
47mmIndicates the minute part
59ssIndicates the second part
163SSSIndicates the millisecond part