Dialog global variables "ShortTimeFormat" & "LongTimeFormat" & TZ based on Date or Injection-Date?

[bill]

Dialog: Help > Help Contents > Reference > Date-Time Format Strings
talks about global variables but I can't find _where_ they are defined!

Some of the global variables are obvious as to what they must be:
ShortDayNames global variable
LongDayNames global variable

ShortMonthNames global variable
LongMonthNames global variable

TimeAMString global variable
TimePMString global variable

DateSeparator global variable
TimeSeparator global variable

But others I'm not so sure what the global variable is set to:
ShortDateFormat global variable
LongDateFormat global variable

ShortTimeFormat global variable
LongTimeFormat global variable

So how do you know what they are (and how would I change them)?

(I'm having problems getting the date & timezone offset the way I like.)
On 2021-05-14 01:02:03 +0400, foo bar wrote:

If I set Dialog attribution "followup" & "date format" to this:
On %date%, %full-name% wrote:\n
yyyy"-"mm"-"dd hh:nn:ss
I get this which is close to what I want but where's the tz offset?
On 2021-05-14 01:02:03, foo bar wrote:

All I want is to figure out how to add the timezone offset.
(and is that tz offset the offset from the "Date" or "Injection-Date"?)
--
Have you read the article about broken pencils?
I hope not, the reviewers said it's pointless and lead on for too long.

[bill]

On Sat, 15 May 2021 06:43:57 +0200, bill wrote:

> (I'm having problems getting the date & timezone offset the way I like.)
> On 2021-05-14 01:02:03 +0400, foo bar wrote:

I figured out how to know what the ShortDateFormat is set to by using
ddddd
Which shows in the attribution a ShortDateFormat of
On 5/14/2021, foo bar wrote:

Adding one more "d" character seems to identify the LongDateFormat
dddddd
Which shows in the attribution a LongDateFormat of
On Friday, May 14, 2021, foo bar wrote:

Likewise the character "t" seems to identify the ShortTimeFormat variable
t
Which shows in the attribution a ShortTimeFormat of
On 1:02 AM, foo bar wrote:

Adding one more "t" character seems to identify the LongTimeFormat
tt
Which shows in the attribution a LongTimeFormat of
On 1:02:03 AM, foo bar wrote:

None of which added the time zone offset which was what I am looking for.

On 2021-05-14 01:02:03 +0400, foo bar wrote:

So that global variable wasn't the secret to adding the tz offset.

Of course I can use "idt" (or |idt|) to add a timezone offset
|idt|
Which shows in the attribution an offset but with a different date format
On Fri, 14 May 2021 01:03:03 +0400, foo bar wrote:
From the date format that I want, which is

On 2021-05-14 01:02:03 +0400, foo bar wrote:

Do you know how to add the timezone offset to the attribution?

On 2021-05-14 01:02:03 +0400, foo bar wrote:

And will that offset be based on the Date: or the Injected-Date: header?
--
I've been using up the ink in all the pens and all the lead in our pencils.
Makes my wife's Christmas wish list much shorter.

[Bernd Rose]

On Sat, 15th May 2021 07:17:34 +0200, bill wrote:

> On Sat, 15 May 2021 06:43:57 +0200, bill wrote:
>
>> (I'm having problems getting the date & timezone offset the way I like.)
>> On 2021-05-14 01:02:03 +0400, foo bar wrote:

[...]

> Of course I can use "idt" (or |idt|) to add a timezone offset
> |idt|
> Which shows in the attribution an offset but with a different date format
> On Fri, 14 May 2021 01:03:03 +0400, foo bar wrote:
> From the date format that I want, which is
> On 2021-05-14 01:02:03 +0400, foo bar wrote:
>
> Do you know how to add the timezone offset to the attribution?
> On 2021-05-14 01:02:03 +0400, foo bar wrote:
> And will that offset be based on the Date: or the Injected-Date: header?

The idt format is the only one supporting timezone offset. It obviously
has a special handler attached in the 40tude Dialog source code. All other
formats follow the standard Delphi FormatDateTime function:

www.delphibasics.co.uk/RTL.asp?Name=FormatDateTime

What you have in mind can, IMHO, not be done with the "Attribution lines"
date/time format settings.

Bernd

[bill]

On Sat, 15 May 2021 08:00:34 +0200, Bernd Rose wrote:

> The idt format is the only one supporting timezone offset. It obviously
> has a special handler attached in the 40tude Dialog source code.

That explains what I was seeing. Thanks.
No wonder I wasn't able to get it the way I had wanted it to be.

BTW, the help lists "idt" but by default I see "|idt|" in the "Date Format"
but when I test it out, they do the same thing (with or without the pipes).

Any idea why Dialog defaults to surrounding "Date Format" idt with pipes?

> All other formats follow the standard Delphi FormatDateTime function:
> www.delphibasics.co.uk/RTL.asp?Name=FormatDateTime

Wow. That's nice.
It explains what every variable turns out to be!

DateSeparator = /
TimeSeparator = :
ShortDateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
LongDateFormat = dd mmm yyyy
TimeAMString = AM
TimePMString = PM
ShortTimeFormat = hh:mm
LongTimeFormat = hh:mm:ss
ShortMonthNames = Jan Feb ...
LongMonthNames = January, February ...
ShortDayNames = Sun, Mon ...
LongDayNames = Sunday, Monday ...
TwoDigitYearCenturyWindow = 50
http://www.delphibasics.co.uk/RTL.asp?Name=FormatDateTime

> What you have in mind can, IMHO, not be done with the "Attribution lines"
> date/time format settings.

Well. That's it then. I'll leave it the way it is.
Thanks!