A custom date format is a field property (or date variable property) you can create and use to define the pattern HotDocs uses to format calendar dates in assembled documents.
Case-sensitivity in custom date formats all operate the same way—if the first character of the date format is uppercase and the second is lowercase, then the first letter of the formatted value is uppercase and all the rest are lowercase. If the first and second characters of the format are uppercase, then the entire formatted value is uppercase.
The following building blocks can be used to create custom date formats:
| Building Block | Description | Example Usage | Example Formatted Answer |
| d | Numeric day | d | 1 |
| dd | Two-digit numeric day | dd | 01 |
| ddd | Case-sensitive weekday abbreviation | ddd, Ddd, DDD | fri, Fri, FRI |
| dddd | Case-sensitive spelled-out weekday | dddd, Dddd, DDDD | friday, Friday, FRIDAY |
| dth | Case-sensitive numeric ordinal day | dth, dTH | 1st, 1ST |
| dy | Case-sensitive spelled-out day | dy, Dy, DY | first, First, FIRST |
| m | Numeric month | m | 1 |
| mm | Two-digit numeric month | mm | 01 |
| mmm | Case-sensitive month abbreviation | mmm, Mmm, MMM | jan, Jan, JAN |
| mmmm | Case-sensitive spelled-out month | mmmm, Mmmm, MMMM | january, January, JANUARY |
| y | Numeric year | y | 2016 |
| yy | Two-digit numeric year | yy | 16 |
| yyyy | Four-digit numeric year | yyyy | 2016 |
| yr | Case-sensitive spelled-out year | yr, Yr, YR | two thousand sixteen, Two Thousand Sixteen, TWO THOUSAND SIXTEEN |
The following are some custom date format examples that use the building blocks from the table above:
| Custom Date Format Example | How the Answer is Formatted |
| d/m/yy | 1/1/16 |
| dd/mm/yy | 01/01/16 |
| dth day of Mmm | 1st day of Jan |
| dy day of the month | first day of the month |
| Mmmm, yyyy | January, 2016 |
| Mmm yyyy | Jan 2016 |
| Yr | Two Thousand Sixteen |
| Ddd, dd/mm/yy | Fri, 01/01/16 |
| Dddd, Mmm dth | Friday, Jan 1st |