Reading:
Why is the date / date format displayed incorrectly in the PDF?
Image

Search the Knowledgebase

Search

Why is the date / date format displayed incorrectly in the PDF?

Avatar photo
March 1, 2024

The date format mm/dd/yy is localized by Excel: even though the file specifies a different format (e.g. dd/mm/yyyy), it will be drawn differently based on system settings. It makes sense when the producer and consumer of files are in the same locale, but that is not always the case over the Internet (like in this case). Unfortunately there is no “smart” way around this yet.

Solution #1:

To get a correctly formatted date in the generated PDF file, you can change the placeholder type from Text to Date in PDF Mail Merger.

Select Date as the new placeholder type:

Select the date format you want to use or define your own date format:

You can use the following characters to define your own date format:

FormatOutputDescription
YY18Two-digit year
YYYY2018Four-digit year
M1-12The month, beginning at 1
MM01-12The month, 2-digits
MMMJan-DecThe abbreviated month name
MMMMJanuary-DecemberThe full month name
D1-31The day of the month
DD01-31The day of the month, 2-digits

Solution #2:

To get a correctly formatted date in the generated PDF file, you can save the date as Text format instead of Date format directly in your Excel spreadsheet. This way the date will always be printed as you can see it in your Excel file.

Did you find this article helpful?
2 out of 2 found this helpful
Still have questions? Send us an Email or Message us

Related Stories