The many ways to use the new Date field options in Writer!

The many ways to use the new Date field options in Writer!

With the all-new date field options, you can forget about manually calculating your past, present and future dates and leave it all to Writer to automatically calculate it for you.

1. To insert today's date:
If you're writing a letter, you'll likely want to include the current date to show the day it was sent. However, since you could be drafting the letter today but sending it a week later, it's important that your date field updates automatically to the current date.  To do this go to Fields > Date > Dynamic Today's Date. 




2. To display a future or past date:

Future date
Say you're drafting a payment reminder letter to let your subscribers know that the payment deadline has been extended 25 days from the original due date. Instead of calculating the extended due date manually, you can simply input +25 and Writer will automatically input the date into your letter.

To do this, go to Create Custom Date Field. In the Preset date value field, enter your original due date (let's say it's 06/29/2021). 
Now to convert this due date to the extended date, all you have to do is add 25 days in the (+)Add days option below. Writer will then automatically calculate this date for you.



Past date

Similarly, if you wanted to include a past date from your original due date, you can just enter the days you want to subtract from your original due date. To do this, go to Create Custom Date Field. In the Preset date value field, enter your original due date (we'll use 06/29/2021 again).

Now to convert this due date to the past date, all you have to do is enter the number of days or month(s) you want in the (-)Subtract days option below. In this case say it's 25 days. Writer will then automatically calculate this date for you.



3. To create a named date field and reuse it
throughout the document:
Now let's say you want to use the extended date field from example 1 in multiple places in a document, so that if you changed the settings for one of these extended date fields it would affect all the other fields as well.

To do this, go to Create Custom Date Field and create the extended date field like how it's shown in example 1. After you've created the field, go to Date >  Custom Autofields > Extended due date and place the fields wherever necessary in the document. Now if you were to change the settings for one of these fields (if perhaps you want to change the extended date field from 25 to 30 days), then this change would be reflected in every other field in the document as well. 




4 (a). To add business dates during document merge:
Payment due dates, submission deadlines, and meeting dates often take place on business days and exclude weekends. To calculate only business dates during document merge, click the settings icon next to Manage Fields and click Configure next to the Date merge field. Now add or subtract the number of days you want, then check the Exclude option and select Weekends.




4 (b). To add business dates for new merge date fields:
If you wanted to create a new merge date field (like an extended date field which is 25 days from your original date) that excludes weekends, go to Create Field.




Now, add the name of the field and choose the format as Date. Click Configure under the Value option.




Select the field value as your original date (as your extended date will be 25 days after). Now enter 25 in the (+) Add days option, then check the Exclude option and select Weekends.




4 (c). To add business dates for particular date fields: 
To add business dates for particular date fields, click on the date field in the template you want to change and the choose the Change for this instance alone option.



Select the Configure option and add or subtract the days you want, then check the Exclude option and select Weekends. 







Like the update? Let us know what you think of this feature in the comments below, and follow us on Twitter to catch all the latest Writer news first.


      Zoho Campaigns Resources


        • Desk Community Learning Series


        • Digest


        • Functions


        • Meetups


        • Kbase


        • Resources


        • Glossary


        • Desk Marketplace


        • MVP Corner


        • Word of the Day


        • Ask the Experts


          Zoho CRM Plus Resources

            Zoho Books Resources


              Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                Zoho Projects Resources


                  Zoho Sprints Resources


                    Zoho Orchestly Resources


                      Zoho Creator Resources


                        Zoho WorkDrive Resources



                          Zoho CRM Resources

                          • CRM Community Learning Series

                            CRM Community Learning Series


                          • Tips

                            Tips

                          • Functions

                            Functions

                          • Meetups

                            Meetups

                          • Kbase

                            Kbase

                          • Resources

                            Resources

                          • Digest

                            Digest

                          • CRM Marketplace

                            CRM Marketplace

                          • MVP Corner

                            MVP Corner




                            Zoho Writer Writer

                            Get Started. Write Away!

                            Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                              Zoho CRM コンテンツ






                                ご検討中の方

                                  • Recent Topics

                                  • Zobot and Sales IQ

                                    What will happen to the Zoho Sales IQ being integrated to the website after creating the Zobot on the website too
                                  • Workflow workdrive rollout

                                    Hi! When will workflow be rolled out to all users? Thanks.
                                  • Help Center and SEO: Any Benefit to My Domain-Mapped Website Ranking?

                                    First of, I love the Help Center which I've just decided to integrate into my website to replace its old-fashioned FAQs. So much more to achieve there now! Lots of new benefits to the site visitors and to me in terms of organizing and delivering all the
                                  • Blueprint status change

                                    I want to change the Blueprint status of a workflow. The status is completed automatically when I added the record through API call. But I want to make it active, I don't see any options for this. Even if I draw transition from any stage , it is not visible
                                  • Support french language options

                                    Greetings, I want to use Zoho with the french language portal, however the supplied translation is not very good (google translate). There are many basic mistakes on the main most important sections (my requests, submit a request). Is there a way for
                                  • Automation #7 - Auto-update Email Content to a Ticket

                                    This is a monthly series where we pick some common use cases that have been either discussed or most asked about in our community and explain how they can be achieved using one of the automation capabilities in Zoho Desk. Email is one of the most commonly
                                  • filter broke my data

                                    I uploaded a file recently from Sheets and it has top 2 rows frozen, with table headers in second row and each one is filterable. somehow my first 2 columns became unfiltered and no matter what I do I cannot reapply the filter?? also didn't realize they
                                  • Introducing the Workflow and Actions APIs for Zoho CRM

                                    We are absolutely thrilled to announce the release of Workflow APIs and Actions APIs in Zoho CRM’s v8 API suite! This powerful new set of endpoints gives developers unprecedented programmatic control over business automation. For years, Workflow Rules
                                  • Zoho CRM Analytics - Allow To Reorder Dashboards

                                    I would like to suggest that you add the ability to reorder dashboards in the Analytics Module. I can see that this has been requested some time ago, the latest 9 years ago. I am not sure if this is a big or small endeavor, but such a small fix can go
                                  • Zoho Form URL displays incorrect name

                                    Hi, I have a form I created called "Design Request form". It displays this way everywhere I look. However, in the URL, it shows up as "DesignJobRequestFormFINAL011325PROOFV1B" and I'm not sure why. I can't find where to fix this. Does anyone have any
                                  • Consumers are talking about your business. Are you listening?👂

                                    A loyal customer might be praising your product in a forum. A frustrated user could be posting a harsh review on a public site. An excited partner may have left a comment on your campaign. A domain expert might be deconstructing your product. A prospect
                                  • What counts as a Temp for Billing Purposes in Workerly

                                    I'm considering trying this product but am not sure how the temp count is used for billing purposes. For example, if we keep a large data base of 500 potential workers.....are we billed for that or only if they are assigned to a client at a given point
                                  • Form name incorrectly displayed in URL

                                    Hi, I have a form I created called "Design Request form". It displays this way everywhere I look. However, in the URL, it shows up as "DesignJobRequestFormFINAL011325PROOFV1B" and I'm not sure why. I can't find where to fix this. Does anyone have any
                                  • I can't receive mail

                                    Hello, I can't receive e-mail. I no longer receive e-mails to the e-mail I received for ​my site. I also edited the DNS settings, but it doesn't work at all.
                                  • 1‑to‑1 invite missing post-setup (needs re-invite) vs channel invite auto-joins without business prompt

                                    1. Zoho Cliq 1‑to‑1 external invite The inviter sent a 1‑to‑1 invite to an invitee who didn’t have a Cliq account. After the invitee completed account setup and created a business/organization, the website redirected them to Cliq, where they opened Cliq
                                  • 【開催報告】東京 ユーザー交流会 Vol.3 2025/10/17 Zoho サービスの活用促進を外部ツールとの連携で実現!

                                    ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの藤澤です。 10月17日(金)に新橋で「東京 ユーザー交流会 Vol.3」を開催しました。ご参加くださったユーザーの皆さま、ありがとうございました! この投稿では、当日のセッションの様子や使用した資料を紹介しています。残念ながら当日お越しいただけなかった方も、ぜひチェックしてみてください😊 ユーザー活用事例セッション:Zoho Flowと決済システムの連携 あみろくの岡島さんに、Zoho サービスの活用事例として、Zoho Flow を活用した外部サービスとの連携事例をご共有いただきました。
                                  • received email opens in a new tab every time I log in

                                    as per the title: since about when I first made my email account, every single time Ive logged in to view my inbox, a new tab opens for an email I viewed once as if restoring a closed session. I thought I just didnt understand the "starting up" settings
                                  • Engage with your customers at scale using WhatsApp Marketing Template messages

                                    Hi everyone, To make it easier for organizations to communicate with customers, Desk now allows you to send individual, mass, and bulk WhatsApp template messages from both the Ticket and Contact modules. How is this going to benefit your business? WhatsApp
                                  • Importation Tickets error

                                    Hi, I'm newbie here 🤓 So, i'm importing data from csv, but when I try advance to mapping fields the importer tool show this message: Previously I try import, other data, and not show errors in this step. Some ideas? Best Regards,
                                  • Showing description in timesheet and timelogs.

                                    I am wondering if it’s possible in version 5 of Zoho People to have the description show by default or with a manipulation on the user’s part. Let me show you what I mean. As you can see this is the view for the users. Now if they want to see the full
                                  • Direct “Add to Google Calendar” Option in Zoho Meeting

                                    Hello Zoho Meeting Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to request an enhancement related to the “Add to Calendar” functionality in Zoho Meeting. Currently, when we open Zoho Meeting and view our meetings under My Calendar, there is an Add to
                                  • Add Flexible Recurrence Options for Meeting Scheduling in Zoho Cliq (e.g., Every 2 Weeks)

                                    Hello Zoho Cliq Team, We hope you are doing well. Currently, when scheduling a meeting inside Zoho Cliq, the recurrence options are limited to Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Yearly. There is no ability to set a meeting to occur every X weeks — for example,
                                  • Workaround: openURL in Blueprints - An alternate approach

                                    There is a roundabout way to open a URL in blueprints after a save event. By using the 'onBeforeMandatoryFormSave' in Client Script, you can open an external URL. Now, the problem is, this is designed to be run BEFORE the blueprint is saved, not after,
                                  • MTD SA in the UK

                                    Hello ID 20106048857 The Inland Revenue have confirmed that this tax account is registered as Cash Basis In Settings>Profile I have set ‘Report Basis’ as “Cash" However, I see on Zoho on Settings>Taxes>Income Tax that the ‘Tax Basis’ is marked ‘Accrual'
                                  • Migrate file from Single File Upload to Multi File Upload

                                    Dears, I have created a new field Multi File Upload to replace the old Single File Upload field. I'd like to ask you guys what is the best way to migrate the files to the new field?
                                  • Open "Live Chat" from a hyperlink?

                                    Hi, I often write paragraphs and text on our company website, and usually say you can get in touch with us via live chat. Can the chat window be triggered to pop open without clicking the chat graphic in the bottom window, and use it in a hyperlink? ie:
                                  • Zoho Sites search box

                                    Is there a Search box that can be added to a Zoho site? It would be for searching within the site only.
                                  • What stops me from packaging and shipping an order when the inventory is negative?

                                    It seems if the inventory value is negative, that Zoho Inventory should not allow me to create a Package and Ship it.   But, there seems to be nothing to stop me from doing that other than when I go to physically package the item and realize that there is no stock. There also seems to be nothing on the screen that even indicates to me that I should not package and ship.  To me this is the fundamental point of an inventory system.  Am I doing something wrong?   
                                  • Conditional formatting based on another field

                                    Hi I have two fields on my form stage 1 complete and stage 1 deadline.  I am trying to setup conditional formatting so that if stage 1 complete is after stage 1 deadline the record is highlighted in red. I need both stage 1 complete and stage 1 deadline
                                  • Is there API Doc for Zoho Survey?

                                    Hi everyone, Is there API doc for Zoho Survey? Currently evaluating a solution - use case to automate survey administration especially for internal use. But after a brief search, I couldn't find API doc for this. So I thought I should ask here. Than
                                  • Using IMAP configuration for shared email inboxes

                                    Our customer service team utilizes shared email boxes to allow multiple people to view and handle incoming customer requests. For example, the customer sends an email to info@xxxx.com and multiple people can view it and handle the request. How can I configure
                                  • The sending IP (136.143.188.15) is listed on spamrl.com as a source of spam.

                                    Hi, it just two day when i am using zoho mail for my business domain, today i was sending email and found that message "The sending IP (136.143.188.15) is listed on https://spamrl.com as a source of spam" I hope to know how this will affect the delivery
                                  • Changing a Single-Line Text field into a Multi-line Field without losing data

                                    Is it possible to change a Single-Line Text field into a Multi-line Field without losing data. I have a module with data for which I would like to change a single-line field into a multi-line field but I'm worried it might delete the pre-existing da
                                  • Webhook - Google Sheets

                                    I have 2 forms that are both integrated with Google Sheets. I've set up a webhook to pull form 1 data from Google Sheets to prefill data in Form 2. The issue I have is that the forms name fields are First Name & Last Name but the Google sheets integration
                                  • Verified Mark Certificate

                                    Hello Dears, Can anyone help and check my mail or direct me to the desired person who can add the verification tag to my mail https://www.zoho.com/blog/mail/email-authentication-with-bimi.html
                                  • Appointment booking is temporarily unavailable

                                    Embeded Zoho booking page in my WordPress website. When someone starts a booking, after choosing time and date, an error appears before payment - "Appointment booking is temporarily unavailable due to restricted settings." Used the embeded code given
                                  • Cannot connect to 365 business calendar and Teams, says personal but it is not.

                                    hi I have a number of users connected to their 365 business accounts. Adding a new user and it thinks hes got 365 personal edition. He does not.... Anyone know what's going on. Trying for days now. Bookings go into his MS calendar but as its thinks its
                                  • Limited review (/questions) for Bookings 2.0

                                    Hi all, I'm writing this review of Bookings 2.0 for two reasons: 1) it may be of interest to others, and 2) I'd like to be corrected if I'm wrong on any points. It's a very limited review, i.e. the things that have stood out as relevant, and particularly
                                  • Zoho Bookings - Reserve with Google

                                    Does Zoho Bookings plan to to integrate with Reserve with Google?
                                  • Tip #3: How to change your booking page language

                                    Displaying your booking page in your target audience's language can greatly increase customer satisfaction. By speaking their language, you will help customers feel more comfortable scheduling with you and create a stronger connection with them. Let's
                                  • Next Page