Formats a time using a given locale.
Text = SRP_Time("Format", Time, Format = "Short", Locale = "")
Returns
Formatted text.
Parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Time | A time in OI internal format. (REQUIRED) |
| Format | A custom or predefined format. (OPTIONAL) |
| Locale | A locale for culture specific formatting. (OPTIONAL) |
Remarks
The "Format" service converts an OI time into human readable text, much like OConv. Unlike OConv, however, this service supports infinite formatting options and localization.
Auto Format
You can set Format to either "Short" or "Long". In either case, the Locale will determine the format. Here are some examples, all formatting the time 3:07:43pm:
| Locale | Short Format | Long Format |
|---|---|---|
| en-US | 3:07 PM | 3:07:43 PM |
| es-ES | 15:07 | 15:07:43 |
| fr-FR | 15:07 | 15:07:43 |
If you omit Format or set it to "", then "Short" will be used.
Custom Format
You can customize the format using a special syntax. You can use any characters in the Format, but 'H', 'h', 'M', 'm', 'S', 's', 'A', 'a', 'T', and 't' are reserved characters. Any other character is treated as a literal and is displayed as is. Thus, you may use literal characters in your format to prefix or suffix the date as you choose. If you need to use any reserved characters literally, then surround your literal text in single or double quotes. If you need to display quotes, place two of them side by side. The reserved characters are interpreted as follows:
| Character(s) | Displays | Example using 1/14/2020 3:07:43pm | Example using es-ES |
|---|---|---|---|
| h | Hour | 15 | 15 |
| hh | 2-digit hour | 15 | 15 |
| m | Minute | 7 | 7 |
| mm | 2-digit minute | 07 | 07 |
| s | Second | 43 | 43 |
| ss | 2-digit second | 43 | 43 |
| a | a/p | p | p |
| aa | am/pm | pm | pm |
| aaa | a.m./p.m. | p.m. | p.m. |
| A | A/P | P | P |
| AA | AM/PM | PM | PM |
| AAA | A.M./P.M. | P.M. | P.M. |
| t | Abbreviated cultural am/pm | p | p |
| tt | Cultural am/pm | PM | p |
As you can see in the table above, the Locale still affects the output, but only when your format requires it.
Here are some example time formats, all them for the time 3:07:43pm:
Format | en-US | es-ES | fr-FR |
|---|---|---|---|
| h:mm aaa | 3:17 p.m. | 3:17 p.m. | 3:17 p.m. |
| h:mm:sstt | 3:17:43PM | 3:17:43p | 3:17:43PM |
| hh:mm:ss | 15:17:43 | 15:17:43 | 15:17:43 |
Only uppercase letters are used in the examples here, but lowercase are supported as well. However, we recommend using lowercase for times because SRP_DateTime uses 'M' for months and 'm' for minutes.
Locale
The Locale parameter specifies the specific culture used to help render the final text. Omitting Locale or setting it "" causes the "Format" service to use the user's current Windows locale setting. If, however, you want to specify your own localization, set this parameter to a locale name.
Examples
// Create an OI time
Time = SRP_Time("Encode", 3, 7, 43)
// Format a time using the default format and the current locale
Text = SRP_Time("Format", Time)
// Format a time using the long format and the current locale
Text = SRP_Time("Format", Time, "Long")
// Format a time using the long format and the Spanish language
Text = SRP_Time("Format", Time, "Long", "es")
// Format a time using a custom format and the Spanish-MEXICAN language
Text = SRP_Time("Format", Time, "h:mm:ss tt", "es-MX")
