msa options settings dateformat - ajtruckle/meeting-schedule-assistant-support GitHub Wiki

Custom Date Formats

Dates in reports are normally displayed using your computer’s short date format, as set in the Regional settings. However, you have full control over how dates appear by using custom formatting.

Custom date format

Figure 1: Use custom formatting for dates

Enabling Custom Dates

To use a custom date format:

  1. Enable the Use Custom Date option.
  2. Enter a format string in the edit box, or select one of the 11 predefined formats from the dropdown.
  3. You can edit any selected format. If you do, the dropdown will change to User Defined.

The format string can include special characters (format codes) for date parts, and any other text you enter will appear as-is in the output.

Format Codes

There are two sets of supported format codes, depending on language and version.

1. Standard Format Codes (All Languages)

These percent-based (%) format codes can be used with all languages.

Code Description
%a Abbreviated day of the week
%A Full day of the week
%b Abbreviated month
%B Full month name
%d Day of month with leading zero (01–31)
%m Month with leading zero (01–12)
%y Last two digits of the year (00–99)
%Y Full year (e.g., 2025)
%#d, %#m, %#y Same as above but without leading zeros

2. Extended Format Codes

The following non-percent format codes are supported starting in version 19.0.4. They provide a more intuitive formatting style similar to other common date formats.

Code Description
d Day of month (1–31)
dd Day of month with leading zero (01–31)
ddd Abbreviated day of the week
dddd Full day of the week
M Month (1–12)
MM Month with leading zero (01–12)
MMM Abbreviated month
MMMM Full month name
y Last digit of the year (0–9)
yy Last two digits of the year (00–99)
yyyy Full four-digit year

Exceptions β€” Languages That Must Use Standard % Codes Only

The extended format codes are not supported in the following languages. These languages must continue using the standard % codes:

  • Amharic
  • Arabic
  • Aukan
  • Cebuano
  • Chinese Simplified
  • Cibemba
  • Gun
  • Haitian Creole
  • Saramaccan
  • Sesotho (South Africa)
  • Sranantongo

Displaying Literal Text

To show literal characters (e.g., labels or symbols) in your format:

  • Wrap them in single quotes 'like this'.
  • To include a single quote in the output, use two single quotes: 'abc''bar' β†’ abc'bar.