Separators for Date and Time formats
Separators divide the d, m, y, h, m, s, t elements inside Dates and Times formats. When defining custom Dates and Times recognizes, you can use regular or special characters as separators.
Regular separators
Spaces and the following characters display literally when used as separators for Dates and Times recognizes : ` : - / , ; * + ? > < _ ! @ # $ ^ & ( ) ~ = { } [ ] .
Date examples:
- 23-Jan-2025
- 25,January,23
- January.23.2025.Monday
Time examples:
- 11-00-00
- 11,00,00
- 11.00.00
Special separators
The following characters have special meaning and can be used inside specific patterns to create complex separators \ " ' %
To display them as regular separators instead, precede them with a backslash ( / ) or enclose them in single (' ') or double quotation marks (" ").| Special character | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| \ | Escape character to force literal characters that would otherwise be considered special separators. | The letter "d" is reserved for the Day element in the Dates format, ranging from 1 to 31. To use "d" as a separator instead, precede it with a backslash: d\dM\dyyyy converts to 23d5d2025 |
| " " or ' ' | Introduce a group of literal characters. | d'SPR'M'SPR'yyyy converts to 23SPR5SPR2025 |
| % | Reserved for system use. Can only be used if enclosed in " or '. | d'%'M'%'yyyy converts to 23%5%2025 |