Format an Answer as the Time of Day

You can merge an answer that is formatted as a time of day. To do this, you assign a pattern to a Text variable. During the interview, users will be prompted to enter the hours and minutes in 12-hour or 24-hour format.

To assign a time pattern to a Text variable

1. Follow the instructions for inserting a variable, selecting Text as the variable type. (See Insert a Variable Field in a Text Template.)
2. At the Variable Field dialog box, click the Edit Component button. The Text Variable Editor appears.
3. Click the Pattern drop-down button and (using the spin control) choose the time of day pattern you wish to use, based on the following information:
   • Choose 99:99 to insert a time in 24-hour format.
   • Choose 99:99 am to insert a time in 12-hour format. The morning or afternoon designation will not include periods (for example, am or pm).
   • Choose 99:99 a.m. to insert a time in 12-hour format. The morning or afternoon designation will include periods (for example, a.m. or p.m.).

If your component file was created before the release of HotDocs 2006, you must create the time-of-day pattern. To do this, type 99:99, 99:99 a.m., or 99:99 a.m. in the Pattern field.