Date Entry Formats
When entering dates, there are several date entry formats you can use, or click Image to access the Calendar dialog box, and click to select a date.
Proper Date Formats
When entering a specific date, use any non-alphanumeric delimiter to separate the day, month, and year. Leading zeros are not necessary (e.g., 01-08-0X). The system assumes the current year if one is not specified.
If the current year is 2012, each of the following entries can be used to represent January 10, 2012:
Format Example
Hyphen 1-10
Period 1.10
Space 1 10
Leading Zero and Hyphen 01-10
Equal Sign 1=10
Forward Slash 1/10
Include the Year 1-10-12
No Delimeters 011012
Date Entry Shortcuts
The following shortcuts are not case sensitive, meaning you can enter either capital or lower case letters:
•  Type t or T or today for the current date.
•  Type t plus or minus any number to add or subtract that number of days from today's date. For example, if today's date is 1.11 and you type t+5, five days are added to that date, making it 1.16.
•  Type w plus or minus any number to add or subtract that number of workdays from today's date. For example, if today is Friday, January 17, and you type w+3, three workdays are added to the date, making it Wednesday, January 22.
•  Type begin for the first day of the current month or end for the last day of the current month. Or type begin+1 or begin-1 to use the beginning of the next month or the beginning of the last month, respectively.
Abbreviations for the days of the week are used to select a date during the current week with the assumption that Sunday is the first day of the week. Type any two or more characters (su, mo, tu, we, th, fr, sa) and Odyssey automatically inserts the date. For example, type mo and Monday's date for the current week is inserted. Type last or next plus an abbreviation to select a date from the previous or next week.
For example, if the current date is Thursday, January 9, you can type the following:
•  mo = January 6 (this Monday's date)
•  fr = January 10 (this Friday's date)
•  last su = December 29 (last Sunday's date)
•  next mo = January 15 (next Monday's date)
Understanding Date Errors
Error messages display if you enter:
•  Invalid dates (e.g., 1/33)
•  Invalid characters (e.g., a letter)
•  A date outside of the database's valid date range
Selecting Dates from the Calendar
The calendar icon Image displays in Odyssey at any point where the user can enter dates. Click this icon to access the Calendar dialog box. The dialog box displays one month at a time, and the following options are available:
•  Use the drop-down lists to select the exact month and year to view.
•  Use Next (ALT+N) to advance to the next month.
•  Use Prev (ALT+P) to go to the previous month.
When the correct month displays, click the day to make a selection. That day is then automatically inserted into the date field on the page or dialog box originally accessed. To exit the Calendar dialog box without making a selection, click Exit (ALT+X).