How do you format a DateTime that's displayed by TextBoxFor() in MVC3?

Question

I have ASP.NET MVC3 installed. I need datepicker with formatted date. I tried this, but it's not working (when passing "{0:dd/MM/yyyy}" as format parameter, it still does not format):

    private static MvcHtmlString FormattedDateTextBoxFor<TModel, TProperty>(this HtmlHelper<TModel> htmlHelper, Expression<Func<TModel, TProperty>> expression, string format, RouteValueDictionary htmlAttributes)
    {
        var metadata = ModelMetadata.FromLambdaExpression(expression, htmlHelper.ViewData);

        if (metadata.Model != null && metadata.Model as DateTime? != null)
            htmlAttributes.Add("value", string.Format(format, (DateTime)metadata.Model));

        return htmlHelper.TextBoxFor(expression, htmlAttributes);
    }

EDIT: My code works if format is "{0:dd-MM-yyyy}" but not only for "{0:dd/MM/yyyy}"

I know that MVC4 has already this functionality, but unfortunately my project is written on MVC3. Can you help me?

Possible duplicate of [Date only from TextBoxFor()](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1961114/date-only-from-textboxfor) — KyleMit, Sep 19 '16 at 14:29

score 44 · Answer 1 · edited Sep 12 '13 at 20:53

44

The only format I have even gotten to work is this:

@Html.TextBoxFor(m => m.Birthdate, "{0:MM/dd/yyyy}")

edited Sep 12 '13 at 20:53

Steve Westbrook

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answered Sep 12 '13 at 20:24

ericbl

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Don't forget this will only work with MVC4 or later. – Usman Younas Feb 26 '14 at 11:49
1

**FYI**: [Many browsers](https://weblog.west-wind.com/posts/2012/nov/08/html5-input-typedate-formatting-issues) and the [`input[type=date]` spec](https://www.w3.org/TR/html-markup/input.date.html) require `"{0:yyyy-MM-dd}"` format. – KyleMit Sep 19 '16 at 14:27

score 14 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 01 '15 at 10:34

14

The syntax is: @Html.TextBoxFor( expression, string format, object htmlAttributes)

eg:

   @Html.TextBoxFor(x => x.DateUtc, "{0:yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss}",
            new { @class = "form-control", placeholder = "Enter Title", id="myDate"})

answered Aug 01 '15 at 10:34

ninetiger

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This worked brilliantly for me. Instead of hardcoding the date format, it may be better to use `"{0:d}"` as the string format which would [render the date](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/standard/base-types/standard-date-and-time-format-strings) according to the regional settings of the client. – JakeMc Mar 30 '21 at 01:33

IyaTaisho · Answer 3 · 2013-12-10T14:20:01.973

3

In your Model, use the following:

[DisplayFormat(DataFormatString="{0:dd/MM/yyyy}")]
public DateTime YourDate { get; set; }

Here is what it should do in the View:

@Html.EditorFor(model => model.YourDate, new { @class = "date" })

This should give you a date formatted out to the format of dd/MM/yyyy.

edited Dec 10 '13 at 14:20

answered Dec 05 '12 at 14:15

IyaTaisho

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maybe did you mean `[DisplayFormat(DataFormatString="{0:dd/MM/yyyy}")]`? – Gianni B. Dec 05 '12 at 14:18
Yes, my bad. Sorry about that. Copied straight from my code and didn't notice you had slightly different format. Sorry about that. Did this work btw? – IyaTaisho Dec 05 '12 at 14:45
And did you know that EditorFor does not have htmlAttribues argument! – Jahan Zinedine Sep 30 '13 at 18:39
1

Worked for me, but did you know you don't need the 'DataType' attribute! – Ian Warburton Dec 09 '13 at 16:28
Yeah, I realized that afterwards but never edited my original post. Thanks. – IyaTaisho Dec 10 '13 at 14:19

score 3 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 01 '17 at 11:16

Display will depend on culture. And while in most cases all other answers are correct, it did not work for me. Culture issue will also cause different problems with jQuery datepicker, if attached.

If you wish to force the format escape / in the following manner:

@Html.TextBoxFor(model => model.YourDate, "{0:MM\\/dd\\/yyyy}")

If not escaped for me it show 08-01-2010 vs. expected 08/01/2010.

Also if not escaped jQuery datepicker will select different defaultDate, in my instance it was May 10, 2012.

score 2 · Answer 5 · edited Apr 09 '16 at 08:10

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this format will help you:

@Html.TextBoxFor(Model => Model._facadeLowdown.DoB, new { @value= Model._facadeLowdown.DoB.HasValue ? Model._facadeLowdown.DoB.Value.ToString("MM/dd/yyyy") : ""
}

edited Apr 09 '16 at 08:10

Pooya

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answered Apr 09 '16 at 07:22

Hassan Shabbir

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How do you format a DateTime that's displayed by TextBoxFor() in MVC3?

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