Date Time Formatting

• Overview
• Applicability Places
• Formatting String
• Date Time Tokens
• Syntax
• Tokens and Properties
• Global (Default) Date Time Format
• Date Time Formatting Tokens Table
• Formatting Tokens Explanation and Samples
• 12-hour clock format
• 24-hour clock format
• Using Milliseconds
• Month numbers and names
• Genitive Month Names
• Days of Week
• Number of the Week in the year
• Day tokens
• Quarters tokens
• Thirds of the month tokens
• Semesters tokens
• Timestamps (debug)
• Adaptive Date-Time formatting
• Localization and Date-Time Utility

Overview

AnyChart Stock shows data that is based on date time values. In any element that displays some data point or range, or series legend - you will most likely show some date time value.

The display of any date time values in all elements of the chart, AnyChart Stock uses very powerful uniform formatting mechanism, which allows to display date and time almost in any possible representation.

Here is a short list of formatting features:

• Ability to use different time units: years, semesters, day, month names and so on and arrange them in any sequence.
• Ability to set uniform formatting for all elements in one place.
• Ability to override default and set personal formatting for any element.
• Ability to localize display according to any language or region.

This article describes almost everything you need to know to format any Date Time values in any element of AnyChart Stock.

Please read the following: This document describes in-depth all you need to know about tokens and formatting, but we want to note that there is a very handy utility that may help you to build desired formatting patterns, this is Localization and Date-Time Utility, please read about it, launch it and play with it as you read this article - the utility is a real time saver, when you need to create date time formatting pattern - for it either contains lots of presets and can be used as the tester for your custom patterns.

Applicability Places

There are a number of chart elements, where you can use date time formatting. Illustration below highlights these elements:

And the table below describes them, please follow the link in the second column to learn more about specific element:

#	Element	Configuration Tutorial
	Legend: Title label	Legend: Title and Date-Time Labels
	X-Axis: Line marker	X-Axis: Line Markers
	Separated tooltip text	Separated Tooltips Text Configurations
	Legend: Date-time label	Legend: Title and Date-Time Labels
	Event-Marker tooltip	Event-Markers: Internal Tooltips
	Grouped tooltip title	Grouped Tooltips Text Configuration
	X-Axis: Major and Minor labels	X-Axis: Major and Minor labels
	X-Axis: Date highlighter	X-Axis: Date Highlighter
	X-Axis: Range Marker	X-Axis: Range Markers
	Scroller Label	Scroller Labels and Grid Settings
	Range picker edit-boxes	Range Picker

Formatting String

The way you create formatting string doesn't depend on the element: this is a special string that uses tokens available in the elements formatting along with date time formatting tokens that specify how exactly date time should be shown.

Note that you can show identical values in different ways, specifying different formatting options. Table below shows how formatting string can alter the way the same timestamp is presented:

Format	Timestamp	Result
%M/%d/%yyyy	2010-04-13 17:18:45	4/13/2009
%M/%d/%yyyy %h:%mm %tt	2010-04-13 17:18:45	4/13/2009 5:18 PM
%dd.%MM.%yyyy %H:%mm:%ss	2010-04-13 17:18:45	13.04.2009 17:18:45
%hh:%mm %tt	2010-04-13 17:18:45	05:18 PM
%dddd, %MMMM %dd %yyyy	2010-04-13 17:18:45	Tuesday, April 13 2009
%yyyy年%M月%d日	2010-04-13 17:18:45	2010年4月13日

As you can see formatting string defines which parts of timestamp should be shown, how they should be shown and arranged.

%M, %d, %t and others are called date time formatting tokens and you can find full list of all available tokens at:

• Date Time Formatting Tokens Table

Besides tokens you can use any other symbols in formatting string, the only special symbol is percent sign - "%", and if you need to use it - you have to escape it with backslash: "\%".

You can either define specific format for each chat element or set global default, please follow these links to learn more:

• Date Time Tokens in Chart Elements Formatting
• Setting Global (Default) Date Time Format

Tokens and Properties

Tokens are special keywords that can be used in formatting string to make component show some value that has something to do with the element. The illustration below tries to give visual explanation of this:

You can see that you can show start and end dates for ranges, current date for point tooltip or legend item, first and last date visible on the chart and so on - all these values are dynamic, and they may change when user moves a mouse or scrolls through the data.

Syntax

Tokens are used in formatting string as follows: {%TOKEN_NAME}{"DATE_TIME_FORMAT"}, where:

• %TOKEN_NAME - the name of the token (with property, if needed), for example: %Date or %Date.Current. For each element different tokens and properties are available, see more at Tokens and Properties.
• DATE_TIME_FORMAT - date time formatting string that defined how %TOKEN_NAME should be presented. If you need to use: "{", "}", "%" or "(quotes), in this string - escape them with backslash: "\{", "\}", "\%" and \".

If you want to use the default formatting - skip {"DATE_TIME_FORMAT"} part, and leave only the token: {%Date}.

Take a look at the tooltip configuration:

You can see there is a formatting string in <format> node:

• "Date Time: {%Date.Current}{"%M/%d/%yyyy %h:%mm:%ss %tt"}, of the point.", text in blue is static and will be the same for all tooltips, and text in red will show relevant data according to formatting string{"DATE_TIME_FORMAT"}.

Now, let's examine dynamic part, it consists of two parts:

• {%Date.Current} - token and its property, which define what data should be shown. On this case it is the timestamp of the hovered point.
• {"%M/%d/%yyyy %h:%mm:%ss %tt"} - data time formatting part that defines how exactly the date time value should be shown.

Table bellows shows how it would work for the given point:

Item	Example
Point timestamp:	2009-01-12 23:35:10.000
Formatting String:	Date Time: {%Date.Current}{"%M/%d/%yyyy %h:%mm:%ss %tt"}, of the point.
Actual text shown:	Date Time: 1/12/2009 11:35:10 PM, of the point.

All tokens used in any formatting string obey the rules described above.

Tokens and Properties

The set of tokens and properties varies from element to element (but the formatting rules are uniform). In this section we will give a brief description of tokens in different elements and provide links for further reading:

1. Legend: Title and Date-Time label, Separated Tooltip Text, Grouped Tooltip Title.

In Legend Label, Legend Title, Separated tooltip or Grouped tooltip you can use {%Date} token. This token allows you to show different values, depending on the property. Table below lists these properties:

Property	Description
{%Date.Current}	Date time of the hovered point.
{%Date.First}	Date time of the first point in the dataset.
{%Date.Last}	Date time of the last point in the dataset.
{%Date.FirstVisible}	Date time of the first point in the range shown.
{%Date.LastVisible}	Date time of the last point in the range shown.

Illustration below shows these values on the chart:

Any property of %Date you can also specify properties used to work with Approximation data:

Sub Property	Description
{%Date.*.GroupingIntervalFirst}	Date time of the starting point of current Grouping Interval.
{%Date.*.GroupingIntervalLast}	Date time of the end point of current Grouping Interval (consequent interval group starting point minus one millisecond).

"*" denotes any of property: Current, First, Last, FirstVisible or LastVisible.

This "sub-properties" may be useful, when you use approximation and grouping.

List below features links to the other documents that describe how {%Date} is used in different elements:

• Legend: Title and Date-Time labels - Text formatting
• Separated Tooltips: Text configuration and formatting
• Grouped Tooltips: Title

2. X-Axis Markers and X-Axis Date highlighter.

In X-Axis Markers and X-Axis Date highlighter you can use these tokens:

• {%Date} - to show Line Marker date in its labels.
• {%StartDate} and {%EndDate} - to show start and end date of range marker in its labels.

These tokens don't have any properties and used as is. You can learn how to use them at:

• X-Axis: Line Marker - Labels
• X-Axis: Range Marker - Labels

3. Event-Marker Tooltip.

In Event Markers internal tooltips you can use these tokens:

• {%SourceDate} - to show original event marker timestamp, it shows original timestamp on any grouping level.
• {%GroupedDate} - to show date, to which marker is bound in the current grouping level. If no grouping is used - it is identical to {%SourceDate}.

{%GroupedDate} token has two optional properties:

Sub Property	Description
{%GroupedDate.GroupingIntervalFirst}	Date time of the starting point of current Grouping Interval
{%GroupedDate.GroupingIntervalLast}	Date time of the end point of current Grouping Interval (consequent interval starting point minus one millisecond).

You can learn how to use Event Markers tokens at:

• Event Markers: Tooltip Text

Global (Default) Date Time Format

If you don't want to set date time format for each element, you can set it globally and define how date looks like be default - without any special formatting applied.

Sample XML below shows how to set "%dddd, %M/%d/%yyyy %h:%mm:%ss %tt" formatting string to be default:

And here is the live sample - note that legend, tooltip and event marker tooltip follow the default without any additional settings:

 

Caution: If any of the elements define its own formatting rules (e.g. {%Date}{"%yy-%M-%d"}) - default settings are disregarded. To see default settings token should be used without formatting specifiers: {%Date}.

Date Time Formatting Tokens Table

The table below lists all available date time formatting tokens along with their description.

Token	Description	Examples	Samples
%d	Represents the day of the month as a number from 1 through 31. A single-digit day is formatted without a leading zero.	Format string: "%d" Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 PM Result: 15 Timestamp: 6/1/2009 1:45:30 PM Result: 1	>>
%dd	Represents the day of the month as a number from 01 through 31. A single-digit day is formatted with a leading zero.	Format string: "%dd" Timestamp: 6/1/2009 1:45:30 PM Result: 01 Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 PM Result: 15	>>
%ddd	Represents the abbreviated name of the day of the week. Abbreviated name can be localized: see Weekday Localization.	Format string: "%ddd" Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 PM Result: Mon	>>
%dddd	Represents the full name of the day of the week. Name can be localized: see Weekday Localization.	Format string: "%dddd" Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 PM Result: Monday	>>
%w	Represents week shortest name. Name can be localized: see Weekday Localization.	Format string: "%w" Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 PM Result: M	>>
%e	Represents number of the week in the year. (1...53) Depends on week numbering rule, see: Week Rule Localization.	Format string: "%e" Timestamp: 01/02/2004 1.45:30 PM Result: 1	>>
%ee	Represents the number of the week in the year. (01...53). Depends on week numbering rule, see: Week Rule Localization.	Format string: "%ee" Timestamp: 01/02/2004 1.45:30 PM Result: 01	>>
%M	Represents the month as a number from 1 through 12. A single-digit month is formatted without a leading zero.	Format string: "%M" Timestamp: 01/01/2004 1.45:30 PM Result: 1	>>
%MM	Represents the month as a number from 01 through 12. A single-digit month is formatted with a leading zero.	Format string: "%MM" Timestamp: 01/01/2004 1.45:30 PM Result: 01	>>
%MMM	Represents the abbreviated name of the month. Name can be localized, see: Month Names Localization.	Format string: "%MMM" Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 PM Result: Jun	>>
%MMMM	Represents the full name of the month. Name can be localized, see: Month Names Localization.	Format string: "%MMMM" Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 PM Result: June	>>
%MMMMM	Represents the abbreviated genitive name of the month. Name can be localized, see: Genitive Month Names Localization.\	Format string: "%MMMMM" Locale: Russian Timestamp: 1/15/2009 1:45:30 PM Result: Ян-я	>>
%MMMMMM	Represents the full genitive name of the month. Name can be localized, see: Genitive Month Names Localization.	Format string: "%MMMMMM" Locale: Russian Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 PM Result: Июня	>>
%N	Represents the shortest name of the month (one letter). Name can be localized, see: Month Names Localization.	Format string: "%N" Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 PM Result: J	>>
%y	Represents the year as a one-digit or two-digit number. If the year has more than two digits, only the two low-order digits appear in the result. If the first digit of a two-digit year begins with a zero (for example, 2006), the number is formatted without a leading zero.	Format string: "%y" Timestamp: 1/1/1911 12:00:00 AM Result: 11 Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 PM Result: 9	>>
%yy	Represents the year as a two-digit number. If the year has more than two digits, only the two low-order digits appear in the result. If the two-digit year has fewer than two significant digits, the number is padded with leading zeros to produce two digits.	Format string: "%yy" Timestamp: 1/1/1911 12:00:00 AM Result: 11 Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 PM Result: 09	>>
%yyyy	Represents the year as a four-digit number.	Format string: "%yyyy" Timestamp: 1/1/1911 12:00:00 AM Result: 1911 Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 PM Result: 2009	>>
%h	Represents the hour as a number from 1 through 12; that is, the hour is represented by a 12-hour clock that counts the whole hours since midnight or noon. A particular hour after midnight is indistinguishable from the same hour after noon. The hour is not rounded, and a single-digit hour is formatted without a leading zero. For example, given a time of 4:12 in the morning or afternoon, this custom format specifier displays "4".	Format string: "%h" Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 AM Result: 1 Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 PM Result: 1	>>
%hh	Represents the hour as a number from 01 through 12; that is, the hour is represented by a 12-hour clock that counts the whole hours since midnight or noon. A particular hour after midnight is indistinguishable from the same hour after noon. The hour is not rounded, and a single-digit hour is formatted with a leading zero. For example, given a time of 4:12 in the morning or afternoon, this format specifier displays "04".	Format string: "%hh" Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 AM Result: 01 Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 PM Result: 01	>>
%H	Represents the hour as a number from 0 through 23; that is, the hour is represented by a zero-based 24-hour clock that counts the hours since midnight. A single-digit hour is formatted without a leading zero.	Format string: "%H" Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 AM Result: 1 Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 PM Result: 13	>>
%HH	Represents the hour as a number from 00 through 23; that is, the hour is represented by a zero-based 24-hour clock that counts the hours since midnight. A single-digit hour is formatted with a leading zero.	Format string: "%HH" Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 AM Result: 01 Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 PM Result: 13	>>
%m	Represents the minute as a number from 0 through 59. The minute represents whole minutes that have passed since the last hour. A single-digit minute is formatted without a leading zero.	Format string: "%m" Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:01:00 AM Result: 1 Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:59:00 PM Result: 59	>>
%mm	Represents the minute as a number from 00 through 59. The minute represents whole minutes that have passed since the last hour. A single-digit minute is formatted with a leading zero.	Format string: "%mm" Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:01:00 AM Result: 01 Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:59:00 PM Result: 59	>>
%s	Represents the seconds as a number from 0 through 59. The result represents whole seconds that have passed since the last minute. A single-digit second is formatted without a leading zero.	Format string: "%s" Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:00:01 AM Result: 1 Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:00:59 PM Result: 59	>>
%ss	Represents the seconds as a number from 00 through 59. The result represents whole seconds that have passed since the last minute. A single-digit second is formatted with a leading zero.	Format string: "%ss" Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:00:01 AM Result: 01 Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:00:59 PM Result: 59	>>
%f	Represents the most significant digit of the seconds fraction; that is, it represents the tenths of a second in a date and time value.	Format string: "%f" Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:00.001 AM Result: 0 Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:00.159 PM Result: 1	>>
%ff	Represents the two most significant digits of the seconds fraction; that is, it represents the hundredths of a second in a date and time value.	Format string: "%ff" Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:00.001 AM Result: 00 Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:00.159 PM Result: 15	>>
%fff	Represents the three most significant digits of the seconds fraction; that is, it represents the milliseconds in a date and time value.	Format string: "%fff" Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:00.001 AM Result: 001 Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:00.159 PM Result: 159	>>
%t	Represents the first character of the AM/PM designator. Designators can be localized, see: AM/PM Designators Localization.	Format string: "%t" Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 PM Result: P Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 AM Result: A	>>
%tt	Represents the entire AM/PM designator. Designators can be localized, see: AM/PM Designators Localization.	Format string: "%tt" Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 PM Result: PM Timestamp: 6/15/2009 1:45:30 AM Result: AM	>>
%c	Represents the number of month third: 1, 2 or 3.	Format string: "%c" Timestamp: 01/02/2004 00.00:00 Result: 1	>>
%C	Represents the shortest name of the month third. Abbreviated name can be localized, see: Thirds of Month Localization.	Format string: "%C" Timestamp: 01/02/2004 00.00:00 Result: B	>>
%CC	Represents short name of the month third. Abbreviated name can be localized, see: Thirds of Month Localization.	Format string: "%CC" Timestamp: 01/02/2004 00.00:00 Result: Beg	>>
%CCC	Represents full name of the month third. Name can be localized, see: Thirds of Month Localization.	Format string: "%CCC" Timestamp: 01/02/2004 00.00:00 Result: Beginning	>>
%r	Represents the number of semester: 1 or 2.	Format string: "%r" Timestamp: 01/02/2004 00.00:00 Result: 1	>>
%R	Represents the shortest name of semester. Abbreviated name can be localized, see: Semester Localization.	Format string: "%R" Timestamp: 01/02/2004 00.00:00 Result: H1	>>
%RR	Represents short name of semester. Abbreviated name can be localized, see: Semester Localization.	Format string: "%RR" Timestamp: 01/02/2004 00.00:00 Result: Half 1	>>
%RRR	Represents full name of semester. Name can be localized, see: Semester Localization.	Format string: "%RRR" Timestamp: 01/02/2004 00.00:00 Result: 1st Half	>>
%q	Represents the number of the quarter: 1, 2, 3 or 4.	Format string: "%q" Timestamp: 01/02/2004 00.00:00 Result: 1	>>
%Q	Represents the shortest name of the quarter. Abbreviated name can be localized, see: Quarters Localization.	Format string: "%Q" Timestamp: 01/02/2004 00.00:00 Result: Q1	>>
%QQ	Represents short name of the quarter. name can be localized, see: Quarters Localization.	Format string: "%QQ" Timestamp: 01/02/2004 00.00:00 Result: Qtr 1	>>
%QQQ	Represents full name of the quarter. Name can be localized, see: Quarters Localization.	Format string: "%QQQ" Timestamp: 01/02/2004 00.00:00 Result: 1st Quarter	>>
%u	Represents the number of Seconds elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970.	Format string: "%u" Timestamp: 01/02/2004 00.00:02 Result: 1073001602	>>
%T	Represents the number of Milliseconds elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970.	Format string: "%u" Timestamp: 01/02/2004 00.00:00.034 Result: 1073001600034	>>

Formatting Tokens Explanation and Samples

This section shows and explains samples of most popular formats. These formats are divided in several section, in each you will find sample formatting, explanation and live samples.

12-hour clock format

The 12-hour clock is a time conversion convention in which the 24 hours of the day are divided into two periods called ante meridiem (a.m., Latin: "before mid day" English: "before noon") and post meridiem (p.m., Latin: "after mid day" English: "after noon"). Each period consists of 12 hours numbered 12 (acting as zero), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11.

A good starting point to learn more about this format is:

• Wikipedia: 12-hour clock

These are tokens that can be used to parse timestamps in 12-hours format:

• 12-hour clock specific tokens: %h, %hh, %t, %tt
• General time token : %m, %mm, %s, %ss

You can change %t and %tt (AM/PM Designators) tokens values. Learn how to do that at:

• Localization: AM/PM Designators

Table below shows sample formatting in 12-hour clock standard with minutes precision:

Timestamp	%M/%d/%yyyy %h:%mm %tt	%M/%d/%yyyy %hh:%mm %t
2010-04-05 00:00:00.000	4/5/2010 12:00 AM	4/5/2010 12:00 A
2010-04-05 01:35:00.000	4/5/2010 1:35 AM	4/5/2010 01:35 A
2010-04-05 16:00:00.000	4/5/2010 4:00 PM	4/5/2010 04:00 P
2010-04-05 17:30:00.000	4/5/2010 5:30 PM	4/5/2010 05:30 P
2010-04-05 23:15:00.000	4/5/2010 11:15 PM	4/5/2010 11:15 P

And the same with seconds precision:

Timestamp	%M/%d/%yyyy %h:%mm:%ss %tt	%M/%d/%yyyy %hh:%mm:%ss %t
2010-04-05 00:00:00.000	4/5/2010 12:00:00 AM	4/5/2010 12:00:00 A
2010-04-05 01:35:01.000	4/5/2010 1:35:01 AM	4/5/2010 01:35:01 A
2010-04-05 16:00:45.000	4/5/2010 4:00:45 PM	4/5/2010 04:00:45 P
2010-04-05 17:30:17.000	4/5/2010 5:30:17 PM	4/5/2010 05:30:17 P
2010-04-05 23:15:59.000	4/5/2010 11:15:59 PM	4/5/2010 11:15:59 P

Live sample shows the chart, where 12-hour clock formatting is used for various elements of the charts:

24-hour clock format

The 24-hour clock is a convention of time keeping in which the day runs from midnight to midnight and is divided into 24 hours, indicated by the hours passed since midnight, from 0 to 23. This system is the most commonly used time notation in the world today.

You can learn more about 24-hours format at:

• Wikipedia: 24-hour clock

The following tokens are used for 24-hours format:

• 24-Hours time format specific tokens: %H, %HH
• General time tokens : %m, %mm, %s, %ss

Table below shows sample formatting in 24-hour clock standard with minutes precision:

Timestamp	%d.%M.%yyyy %H:%mm	%d.%M.%yyyy %HH:%mm
2010-04-05 00:00:00.000	5.4.2010 0:00	5.4.2010 00:00
2010-04-05 01:35:00.000	5.4.2010 1:35	5.4.2010 01:35
2010-04-05 16:00:00.000	5.4.2010 16:00	5.4.2010 16:00
2010-04-05 17:30:00.000	5.4.2010 17:30	5.4.2010 17:30
2010-04-05 23:15:00.000	5.4.2010 23:15	5.4.2010 23:15

And the same with seconds precision:

Timestamp	%dd.%MM.%yyyy %H:%mm:%ss	%dd.%MM.%yyyy %HH:%mm:%ss
2010-04-05 00:00:09.000	05.04.2010 0:00:09	05.04.2010 00:00:09
2010-04-05 01:35:01.000	05.04.2010 1:35:01	05.04.2010 01:35:01
2010-04-05 16:00:45.000	05.04.2010 16:00:45	05.04.2010 16:00:45
2010-04-05 17:30:21.000	05.04.2010 17:30:21	05.04.2010 17:30:21
2010-04-05 23:15:59.000	05.04.2010 23:15:59	05.04.2010 23:15:59

Live sample shows the chart, where 24-hour clock formatting is used for various elements of the charts:

Using Milliseconds

If you need to show data in tiny time interval you may need to show time with milliseconds precision. To do so you need the following tokens:

• %f, %ff, %fff

Table below shows sample formatting with milliseconds precision:

Timestamp	%H:%mm:%ss.%f	%H:%mm:%ss.%ff	%H:%mm:%ss.%fff
2010-04-05 00:00:09.001	0:00:09.0	0:00:09.00	0:00:09.001
2010-04-05 01:35:01.012	1:35:01.0	1:35:01.01	01:35:01.012
2010-04-05 16:00:45.123	16:00:45.1	16:00:45.12	16:00:45.123

Live sample shows the chart, where milliseconds formatting is used for various elements of the charts:

Month numbers and names

To show month part of the date you can use to types of tokens:

• %M, %MM - show month as the number.
• %N, %MMM, %MMMM - show the name of the month - full or abbreviated.

Names shown using %N, %MMM and %MMMM tokens can be redefined according to local standards. You can learn how to do that at:

• Localization: Month names

Table below shows sample formatting that uses month formatting tokens:

Timestamp	%yyyy-%M-%d	%yyyy-%MM-%d	%N%d, %yyyy	%MMM %d, %yyyy	%MMMM %d, %yyyy
2009-01-09	2009-1-9	2009-01-9	J9, 2009	Jan 9, 2009	January 9, 2009
2009-02-09	2009-2-9	2009-02-9	F9, 2009	Feb 9, 2009	February 9, 2009
2009-03-09	2009-3-9	2009-03-9	M9, 2009	Mar 9, 2009	March 9, 2009
2009-04-09	2009-4-9	2009-04-9	A9, 2009	Apr 9, 2009	April 9, 2009
2009-05-09	2009-5-9	2009-05-9	M9, 2009	May 9, 2009	May 9, 2009
2009-06-09	2009-6-9	2009-06-9	J9, 2009	Jun 9, 2009	June 9, 2009
2009-07-09	2009-7-9	2009-07-9	J9, 2009	Jul 9, 2009	July 9, 2009
2009-08-09	2009-8-9	2009-08-9	A9, 2009	Aug 9, 2009	August 9, 2009
2009-09-09	2009-9-9	2009-09-9	S9, 2009	Sep 9, 2009	September 9, 2009
2009-10-09	2009-10-9	2009-10-9	O9, 2009	Oct 9, 2009	October 9, 2009
2009-11-09	2009-11-9	2009-11-9	N9, 2009	Nov 9, 2009	November 9, 2009
2009-12-09	2009-12-9	2009-12-9	D9, 2009	Dec 9, 2009	December 9, 2009

Live sample shows the chart, where month formatting is used for various elements of the charts:

Genitive month names

Genitive month names may be required for proper display of date time in some languages. You can learn how to use and configure %MMMMM and %MMMMMM tokens:

• Localization: Genitive month names

Live sample below shows date time formatting according to Russian grammar rules and standards:

Days of Week

To show weekday names you can use the following tokens:

• %w - to show the shortest variant of weekday name: Su, M, Tu, etc.
• %ddd - to show short weekday name: Sun, Mon, Tue, etc.
• %dddd - to show full weekday name: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc.

All names shown using this tokens can be redefined, learn how to do that at:

• Localization: Weekday names

Table below shows different variants of formatting that use weekday names tokens:

Timestamp	%w, %M/%d/%yyyy	%ddd, %M/%d/%yyyy	%dddd, %M/%d/%yyyy
2010-04-04	Su, 4/4/2010	Sun, 4/4/2010	Sunday, 4/4/2010
2010-04-05	Mo, 4/5/2010	Mon, 4/5/2010	Monday, 4/5/2010
2010-04-06	Tu, 4/6/2010	Tue, 4/6/2010	Tuesday, 4/6/2010
2010-04-07	We, 4/7/2010	Wed, 4/7/2010	Wednesday, 4/7/2010
2010-04-08	Th, 4/8/2010	Thu, 4/8/2010	Thursday, 4/8/2010
2010-04-09	Fr, 4/9/2010	Fri, 4/9/2010	Friday, 4/9/2010
2010-04-10	Sa, 4/10/2010	Sat, 4/10/2010	Saturday, 4/10/2010
2010-04-11	Su, 4/11/2010	Sun, 4/11/2010	Sunday, 4/11/2010

Table below shows different formatting that uses these tokens:

Number of the Week in the year

There are two tokens to show the number of the week in the year:

• %e - token shows number without leading zeros: 1, 2, ... 52, 53;
• %ee - token shows number with leading zeros: 01, 02, ... 52, 53.

The way the engine calculates the number of the week depends on locale settings. Learn how it can be tuned at:

• Localization: Week Rule

Table below shows different formatting that uses %e and %ee tokens:

Timestamp	W%e-%dd-%MMM-%yyyy	Week %ee of %yyyy
2009-12-31	W53-31-Dec-2009	Week 53 of 2009
2010-01-01	W1-01-Jan-2010	Week 01 of 2010
2010-01-02	W1-02-Jan-2010	Week 01 of 2010
2010-01-12	W3-12-Jan-2010	Week 03 of 2010

Live sample below shows chart that uses date time formatting with week number:

Day tokens

To show the day number you can use two tokens:

• %d - shows day number without leading zero: 1, 2, ... 30, 31.
• %dd - shows day number with leading zero: 01, 02, ... 30, 31.

Table below shows different formatting that uses these tokens:

Timestamp	%M/%d/%yyyy	%dd.%MM.%yyyy
2009-11-03	11/3/2009	03.11.2009
2009-12-30	12/30/2009	30.12.2009
2010-01-08	1/8/2009	08.01.2009

Live sample with these tokens used in various chart elements formatting:

Quarters tokens

To show quarters you can use following four tokens:

• %q - shows the number if the quarter: 1, 2, 3, and 4.
• %Q - shows the shortest text based quarter name: Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4.
• %QQ - shows short quarter name: "Qtr 1", "Qtr 2", "Qtr 3" or "Qtr 4".
• %QQQ - shows full quarter name: "1st Quarter", "2nd Quarter", "3rd Quarter", or "4th Quarter".

If you need to adjust values shown by %Q, %QQ and %QQQ tokens according to local standards, you can do that as described at:

• Localization: Quarters names

Table below shows different formatting that uses these tokens:

Timestamp	%q-%yyyy	%Q %yyyy	%QQ, %yyyy	%QQQ of %yyyy
2009-02-01	1-2009	Q1 2009	Qtr 1, 2009	1st Quarter of 2009
2009-04-26	2-2009	Q2 2009	Qtr 2, 2009	2nd Quarter of 2009
2009-08-12	3-2009	Q3 2009	Qtr 3, 2009	3rd Quarter of 2009
2009-11-01	4-2009	Q4 2009	Qtr 4, 2009	4th Quarter of 2009
2010-01-05	1-2010	Q1 2010	Qtr 1, 2010	1st Quarter of 2010

Live sample with these tokens used in various chart elements formatting:

Thirds of the month tokens

To show thirds of the month you can use these tokens:

• %c - shows the number of thirds: 1, 2, and 3.
• %C - shows the shortest name of the thirds: "B", "M" and "E".
• %CC - shows the short name of the thirds: "Beg", "Mid" and "End".
• %CCC - shows the full name of thirds: "Beginning", "Middle" and "End".

You can redefine values shown by %C, %CC and %CCC according to local standards, as described at:

• Localization: Thirds of the month names

Table below shows different formatting that uses these tokens:

Timestamp	Th. %c of %MMM %yyyy	%MMM(%C) %yyyy	%MMM(%CC) %yyyy	%CCC of %MMMM %yyyy
2010-01-02	Th. 1 of Jan 2010	Jan(B) 2010	Jan(Beg) 2010	Beginning of January 2010
2010-01-11	Th. 2 of Jan 2010	Jan(M) 2010	Jan(Mid) 2010	Middle of January 2010
2010-01-23	Th. 3 of Jan 2010	Jan(E) 2010	Jan(End) 2010	End of January 2010
2010-02-01	Th. 1 of Feb 2010	Feb(B) 2010	Feb(Beg) 2010	Beginning of February 2010

Live sample with these tokens used in various chart elements formatting:

Semesters tokens

To show semesters you can use these tokens:

• %r - shows the number of semester: 1 or 2.
• %R - shows the shortest semester name: "H1" or "H2".
• %RR - shows short semester name: "Half 1" or "Half 2".
• %RRR - shows full semester name: "1st Half" or "2nd Half"

You can change values shown by %R, %RR and %RRR tokens to adjust them to local standards, to learn how to do that see:

• Localization: Semesters names

Table below shows different formatting that uses these tokens:

Timestamp	%r, %yyyy	%R, %yyyy	%RR, %yyyy	%RRR of %yyyy
2009-03-10	1, 2009	H1, 2009	Half 1, 2009	1st Half of 2009
2009-11-20	2, 2009	H2, 2009	Half 2, 2009	2nd Half of 2009
2010-04-01	1, 2010	H1, 2010	Half 1, 2010	1st Half of 2010
2010-07-30	2, 2010	H2, 2010	Half 2, 2010	2nd Half of 2010

Live sample with these tokens used in various chart elements formatting:

Timestamps tokens (debug)

The following tokens are rarely used to display data, but probably useful in debugging (and very useful for data input):

• %u - shows timestamp in Unix timestamp format: the number of seconds elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970.
• %T - shows timestamp the number of Milliseconds elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970.

Live sample with these tokens used in various chart elements formatting:

Adaptive Date-Time Formatting

When the use of grouping changes the grouping interval, the data details change as well; for example, when a chart is shown in daily intervals, the date and time are shown as "21 May, 2009" or "16 Apr, 2009"; but when the data groups into months, the date and time are shown as "1 May, 2009" or "1 Apr 2009", because all the month's data is represented by the one day of the month.

But user may be confused with this label and prefer to see a label like "May, 2009".

To solve this issue and prevent the confusion, use adaptive date-time formatting, which allows to set how the elements change their format depending on the grouping level.

This mechanism is described in detail in:

• Advanced Settings: Adaptive Date Time Formatting

Localization and Date-Time Formatting Utility

To make the process of localization easier, we have created a special utility that allows obtaining all the settings available in AnyChart Stock for more than 130 languages and dialects with ease.

But, what is more important in connection with the topic of this article, this utility allows to obtain preset date time formatting patterns and create and test your own.

This application allows choosing the preset date-time formats related to the given language or, as already said, create you own; these settings are instantly shown on the sample charts in the Preview panels.

You can adjust these settings any way you want. And when you are done with them, you can copy them from the XML or JSON Settings tabs.

This utility can be found at the AnyChart web site:

• AnyChart Stock Localization and Date-Time Formatting Utility