Velocity Date and Calendar Tools

Last Updated: Jul 27, 2021
documentation for the dotCMS Content Management System

In addition to customized tools for date and time handling, dotCMS has many built-in velocity tools that can be called directly in a widget, container, template, etc., for use on any dotCMS page.

Method Overview
getDate() Returns a Date object representing the time at which this method was invoked.
getCalendar() Returns a Calendar object representing the time at which this method was invoked.
format() Returns a formatted string representing the specified date.
toDate() Returns a Date object representing the specified date.
toCalendar() Returns a Calendar object representing the specified date.
getDate()
       

Returns a Date object representing the time at which this method was invoked.

String getDate()

String getDate(Locale locale)

Parameters
locale
An object of class java.util.Locale that represents the locale to be used to create the date.
Returns
An object of class java.util.Date representing the time at which this method was invoked in the specified locale. If no locale is specified, the system's default locale is used.

getCalendar()
       

Returns a Calendar object representing the time at which this method was invoked.

String getCalendar()

String getCalendar(Locale locale)

Parameters
locale
An object of class java.util.Locale that represents the locale to be used to create the calendar.
Returns
An object of class java.util.Calendar representing the time at which this method was invoked in the specified locale. If no locale is specified, the system's default locale is used.

format()
       

Returns a formatted string representing the specified date.

String format(String format, Object obj)

String format(String format, Object obj, Locale locale)

Parameters
format
A string that represents the formatting instructions according to java.text.SimpleDateFormat. See also below.
obj
An object of class java.util.Date or java.util.Calendar. It is also possible to pass a string that represents a parsable date according to java.text.DateFormat.
locale
An object of class java.util.Locale that represents the locale to format the date for.
Returns
The formatted date string in the specified locale or null if one or several input parameters are invalid. If no locale is specified, the system's default locale is used instead.

This methods use the same formatting instructions as class java.text.SimpleDateFormat.


Symbol   Meaning                 Presentation        Example
------   -------                 ------------        -------
G        era designator          (Text)              AD
y        year                    (Number)            1996
M        month in year           (Text & Number)     July & 07
d        day in month            (Number)            10
h        hour in am/pm (1~12)    (Number)            12
H        hour in day (0~23)      (Number)            0
m        minute in hour          (Number)            30
s        second in minute        (Number)            55
S        millisecond             (Number)            978
E        day in week             (Text)              Tuesday
D        day in year             (Number)            189
F        day of week in month    (Number)            2 (2nd Wed in July)
w        week in year            (Number)            27
W        week in month           (Number)            2
a        am/pm marker            (Text)              PM
k        hour in day (1~24)      (Number)            24
K        hour in am/pm (0~11)    (Number)            0
z        time zone               (Text)              Pacific Standard Time
'        escape for text         (Delimiter)
''       single quote            (Literal)           '     

Examples: "E, MMMM d" will result in "Tue, July 24"
          "EEE, M-d (H:m)" will result in "Tuesday, 7-24 (14:12)"

toDate()
       

Returns a Date object representing the specified date.

Date toDate(Object obj)

Parameters
obj
The date to convert. The parameter can be an object of class java.util.Date or java.util.Calendar. It is also possible to pass a string that represents a parsable date according to java.text.DateFormat.
Returns
An object of class java.util.Date representing the converted date or of the input parameter is invalid.

toCalendar()
       

Returns a Calendar object representing the specified date.

Calendar toCalendar(Object obj)

Parameters
obj
The date to convert. The parameter can be an object of class java.util.Date or java.util.Calendar. It is also possible to pass a string that represents a parsable date according to java.text.DateFormat.
Returns
An object of class java.util.Calendar representing the converted date or of the input parameter is invalid.

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