In Django, working with dates and times is a common task, and one of the most frequent requirements is to display dates in a specific format. By default, Django's templating engine displays dates in a format that may not be what you want. In this article, we will explore how to easily format dates in the DD/MM/YYYY format in Django templates.
Understanding Django's Date Format
In Django, dates are displayed in a format that is determined by the DATE_FORMAT
setting in your project's settings file. By default, this setting is set to 'N j, Y'
, which displays dates in the format 'Month Day, Year'
. For example, January 1, 2022, would be displayed as 'Jan 1, 2022'
.
Using the date
Template Filter
To format dates in a Django template, you can use the date
template filter. This filter takes a format string as an argument and formats the date accordingly.
For example, to display a date in the DD/MM/YYYY format, you can use the following code:
Published on {{ article.published_date|date:"d/m/Y" }}
In this example, article.published_date
is a Django datetime
object, and the date
filter formats it according to the format string "d/m/Y"
.
Customizing the Date Format
If you need to use a specific date format throughout your project, you can customize the DATE_FORMAT
setting in your project's settings file. For example:
DATE_FORMAT = 'd/m/Y'
With this setting, all dates in your project will be displayed in the DD/MM/YYYY format.
Using a Custom Template Filter
If you need more control over date formatting, you can create a custom template filter. Here's an example of how you can create a custom filter to format dates in the DD/MM/YYYY format:
# myapp/templatetags/custom_filters.py
from django import template
from datetime import datetime
register = template.Library()
@register.filter(name='ddmmyyyy')
def format_date(date):
return date.strftime('%d/%m/%Y')
You can then use this filter in your templates like this:
Published on {{ article.published_date|ddmmyyyy }}
Displaying Dates in a Specific Language
If you need to display dates in a specific language, you can use the django.utils.translation
module. For example:
from django.utils.translation import gettext as _
#...
Published on {{ article.published_date|date:"d/m/Y" }} ({{ _("Month") }})
This will display the date in the DD/MM/YYYY format, and the month will be translated to the current language.
Gallery of Date Format Examples
Here are some examples of different date formats you can use in Django templates:
FAQ
Q: How do I format dates in a Django template?
A: You can use the date
template filter to format dates in a Django template.
Q: How do I customize the date format in Django?
A: You can customize the DATE_FORMAT
setting in your project's settings file.
Q: Can I create a custom template filter to format dates? A: Yes, you can create a custom template filter to format dates.
Q: How do I display dates in a specific language in Django?
A: You can use the django.utils.translation
module to display dates in a specific language.