Date Variable
A Date variable captures a calendar date entered by the user through a date picker displayed in the questionnaire. It is ideal for scenarios where a specific date is required in a document, such as a contract start date, signing date, or deadline. The variable supports minimum and maximum value constraints to limit the range of acceptable dates, as well as flexible formatting options for how the date appears in the generated document.
Question
Specifies the question text that is displayed on the questionnaire shown to end users.
Guidance
Specifies the guidance text displayed on the questionnaire, which supports rich text formatting through the controls provided above the text box.
note
If you want to make a specific question compulsory for the user, check the '
Answer required
' box. Required questions display a red asterisk and prevent submission until they are answered.
Advanced settings
This section is divided into three different categories. On the Questionnaire, lists questions and input fields shown to end users in Author Online to collect structured feedback or data, which may vary by content type. The document outlines the values that will be included in the final document generated after the questionnaire is completed and the template is assembled. Repeated groups help authors organise content that could be repeated.
On the Questionnaire
Default Value
Default values are pre-filled entries that appear in questionnaire fields when accessed for the first time. You can type these values manually in the edit box or derive them using expressions.
A Date variable requires an expression that evaluates to a valid date. You can use the
Today
function to set a date variable to the current date by typing Today in the default box. Alternatively, use an If-Then-Else expression to define conditional defaults. To leave the default blank when a condition is not met, use a question mark (?). For example: If SameDateYN Then Date1 Else ?If a variable remains unanswered, because the user removed the default or skipped the relevant questionnaire page, the default value will not appear in the final document. This ensures only confirmed user inputs are included.
Min. Value
Minimum values ensure the user enters a value as the specified minimum, which can be manually entered in the edit box. The type of the minimum value expression must match the variable's type, a Date variable must have a minimum value expression that evaluates to a valid date. Contract Express will not allow any questionnaire page to be submitted if it contains a relevant question whose value is less than the minimum value for that question.
Max. Value
Maximum values ensure the user enters a value no greater than the specified maximum, which is entered manually in the edit box. The type of the maximum value expression must match the variable's type, a Date variable must have a maximum value expression that evaluates to a valid date. Contract Express will not allow any questionnaire page to be submitted if it contains a relevant question whose value exceeds the maximum value for that question.
In the Document
Default case
The default case specifies the casing of variable values in a generated document when no local case is defined. The available options are:
Format Option | Description |
|---|---|
Capitalize Each Word (capitals) | The first letter of all words will appear capitalised in the generated document. |
Uppercase (upper) | All letters will appear in uppercase in the generated document. |
Lowercase (lower) | All letters will appear in lowercase in the generated document. |
As entered | All letters will appear as they are entered on the questionnaire in the generated document. |
Title case (proper) | The first letter of all major words will be capitalised in the generated document. |
First letter capitalize (firstletter) | The first letter of each word will be capitalised in the generated document. |
If no default case is selected, the value will be generated as entered in the questionnaire, by default.
For detailed instructions, see Field format and case overview.
Default format
The default format attribute determines how variable values appear in a generated document when no local formatting is applied. The default format used depends on the variable type. You can select a pre-defined format from the dropdown or create a custom format by choosing
Create new
. Clicking Edit format
opens the Format dialog, where the newly created format is automatically set as the default. If you choose
None
as the default format, the generated document will undo the previous selection and remove the selected format.You can manage both newly created and existing formats by selecting the format and clicking
Edit format
. This will open the Edit Format dialog box, which provides options to Delete, Save, or Cancel.- Delete– Removes the selected format.
- Save– Saves the custom formats in the Format table according to applicable conditions.
- Cancel– Discards the custom formats; they will not be stored in the Format table.
note
When custom formats are created for a data type, they will be displayed as options in the
format
dropdown, ordered by the most recently added and appearing immediately after the default format list. If any format is modified, it will be re-ordered to appear by the most recently modified status in the dropdown.For , the available default formats are:
Date Variables
Date Format | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
dd/mm/yyyy | Evaluates to date, month, and year in numeric format. | 15/01/2015 |
mm/dd/yyyy | Evaluates to month, date, and year in numeric format. | 01/15/2025 |
dd MM yyyy | Evaluates to date, month, and year, where month is represented in words. | 02 March 2025 |
d MM yyyy | Evaluates date, month, and year, where month is represented in full name and date is 1–2 digits. | 1 March 2025 / 31 January 2025 |
MM d, yyyy | Evaluates month, date, and year, where month is in full name and date is 1–2 digits. | January 15, 2025 |
MM dth, yyyy | Evaluates month, date, and year, where month is in full name and day is ordinal. | January 15th, 2025 |
dth MO MM yyyy | Evaluates date, month, and year, where day is ordinal, MO adds ownership phrase ("of"), and month is full name. | 15th of January 2025 |
DTH MO MM YYYY | Evaluates date, month, and year, where day is written in words with an ordinal suffix, MO adds "of", month is the full name, and year is written in words. | Fifteenth of January Two Thousand and Twenty-Five |
See Date Format for details on how to apply different formatting options.
Related Content
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Variables in Author Online
Format:
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