How to create a dynamic date that updates based on a reference date?

How to create a dynamic date that updates based on a reference date

Overview

Dynamic dates in Zoho Writer allow you to create dates that automatically update based on a reference date. By setting a start or base date, you can calculate other dates that are a specific number of days, months, or years before or after it. This feature is especially useful for project timelines, schedules, recurring events, and any document where dates need to adjust dynamically. Using relative dates ensures accuracy and saves time, as you only need to update the reference date for the dependent date to recalculate automatically.

Steps to create Dynamic Date field

  • Place the cursor where you want the date to be displayed.
  • Go to Fields --> Date --> Create Custom Date Field.
  • In the Custom Date Autofield dialog that opens, configure the following:

    • Name the Dynamic Date field

  • Named Custom Date fields  will be saved under Date for later use. Changes made to any one of the date fields in the document will automatically change all the fields with the same name.
  • Enter any name for the date field for using it elsewhere in the document.

      Change locale settings: Set appropriate locale, date format and time zone.

  1. Add or subtract days

    1. Add or subtract days/months/years and this will reflect on the custom date.

    You also might need an adjustment if the resulting date falls on a weekend (Sat/Sun), it should be moved to the next working day (Monday).

  2. Exclude weekdays or weekends

    1. Exclude weekdays or weekends as required.

    Click Create & Insert.

Additional notes

Use the character "a" to denote AM/PM in date configurations. Similar to how "MMMM" represents the full month name, you can now use "a" to include the meridian indicator in date formats. For example
  • The format "hh:mm a" will format the time as "10:30 AM"
  • The format "MMMM dd, yyyy a" will display the date as "March 26, 2025 AM"
  • The format D MMM YY HH:mm:ss will render - (1 Jun 21, 13:42:16 pm)
  • The format EEE DD MM YYYY hh:mm z will render - (Sat, 10-07-2021, 01:06 IST)
The following shortcuts render the date and time in the corresponding formats as mentioned below.

    Shortcut

    Renders

    D

    Date in single digit (1-9)

    DD

    Date in two digits (01-31)

    MM

    Months in two digits (01-12)

    MMM

    Months in short text format (Jan-Dec)

    MMMM

    Months as full names (January-December)

    YY

    Year in two digits (00-99)

    YYYY

    Year in four digits (2021)

    EEE

    Day in short text format (Sun-Sat)

    EEEE

    Days as full names (Sunday-Saturday)

    hh:mm:ss

    Time with hour, minutes, seconds and meridiem. (04:57:26 PM)

    h:mm:ss

    Time with hour in a single digit, minutes, seconds and meridiem. (4:57:26 PM)

    hh:mm

    Time with hour, minutes, and meridiem. (04:57 PM)

    h:mm

    Time with hour in a single digit, minutes, and meridiem. (04:57 PM)

    HH

    Hours in 24 hour time format (00-23)

    H

    Hours as a single digit in 24 hour time format (0-23)

    hh

    Hours in 12 hour time format (01-12)

    h

    Hours as a single digit in 12 hour time format (1-12)

    mm

    Minutes in two digits (01-59)

    ss

    Seconds in two digits (01-59)

    a

    Meridian Indicator (AM/PM)

    zz

    Time Zone (Indian Standard Time)

    z

    Time Zone in short (IST)

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