Format a date

Use this helper to change date and time formats. The helper takes a date or timestamp as an input and outputs it in the specified format.

Common use-cases

• Displaying a timestamp in a human readable format

• Displaying a date or a time in a localized format

• Converting a date into the specific format that other apps require (Unix timestamp, ISO)

Format a date options

These are the date output options for this helper, based on an initial input of Sunday, February 14th, 2010, at 3:25:50 pm:

Output format	Example output	Description
dddd, MMMM Do YYYY, h:mm:ss a	Sunday, February 14th 2010, 3:25:50 pm	Full date and time, 12-hour clock
MMMM Do, YYYY	February 14th, 2010	Full date, no time
YYYY-MM-DD	2010-02-14	Date in ISO 8601 format, no time
MM/DD/YY	02/14/10	Date in U.S. format, no time
MM-DD-YYYY	02-14-2010	Date in U.S. format with 4-digit year, no time
DD-MM-YYYY	14-02-2010	Date in European format, no time
ISO	2010-02-14T13:25:50.000Z	Full date and time in ISO 8601 format
UNIX	unix - 1685272216	Unix timestamp

Example 1 - American to European date format

If you have support agents in Europe and North America, and the company's database is in Standardized European format:

1. Input dates in the American format: February 15, 2024 (02/15/2024)

2. Select the desired European date format 15 February 2024 (15/02/2024)

The helper will then return the date in the selected format.

Example 2 - Convert ISO to UNIX

Some apps, (like Intercom and Zendesk) store dates in the UNIX format.

• UNIX timestamp: 1707955200

However, Ply outputs ISO timestamps.

• ISO 8601 format: 2024-02-15T00:00:00

With the Format a date helper, you can easily convert the ISO timestamps to UNIX format, enabling easy date and time manipulations.