Using the date.today() Feature

In some cases, you may want a document to generate a date based on the current day. This is based on the UTC date—you may see a difference in an hour during daylight saving time. If the hour is important to you, then additional conditional logic is required.

There are two options to create a current date. First, add it as a formula. Second, add the expression straight into the template. This guide will walk you through both ways. You can watch the accompanying video here: 

Current Date as a Formula

Navigate to the formulas tab in the online workspace. Select Add a new formula and create a current date formula. Verify that it is a single-date formula. 

Enter the expression. Note that in our example we are creating the Eastern time zone. If you are in a different time zone, view the table below to determine what number you will insert in the parentheses (). Select Save.

date.today(-5)

Open the template you are working on. Select the formula and update any formatting option you would like. 

The benefit of creating the current date as a formula is that you only need to create it once and can reuse it in any template. You also have one location in which you have to update information—for example, if you should change time zones, edit the formula in the online workspace by updating the number in parentheses.

Current Date as an Expression

Open the template you wish to add the current date to. Note in our example we are creating the Pacific time zone. If you are in a different time zone, view the table below to determine what number you will insert in the parentheses (). 

Enter the expression. Be sure to surround the expression with the proper use of brackets. You can also add formatting at this step.

{[date.today(-8)|format: “MM, DD, YYYY”]}

Select Save.

UTC Numbers