Six Timestamp data objects are available for use in Scripts.

_TIMESTAMPNOW1_
_TIMESTAMPNOW2_
_TIMESTAMPNOW3_
_TIMESTAMPFIX1_
_TIMESTAMPFIX2_
_TIMESTAMPFIX3_


The format of these timestamps should be defined in the (advanced) Playback Options Dialog. On playback, the timestamps will be replaced with actual dates/times as appropriate. The NOW timestamps will be resolved to the date/time that the command is executed. The FIX timestamps will be resolved to the date/time that the playback started. See Data-Driven Scripts for more information on variable substitution.

These timestamps can be used to enter dates/times into edit boxes or other text areas, but more importantly they can be used to dynamically compare the value of a timestamp on a webpage, using the same format the web page uses. This increases the robustness of a script as it prevents validation failure when the script is run on a diferent date or at a different time from when it was recorded.

Formatting a TimeStamp:

The TIMESTAMP format consists of one or more codes, based on the 'C' standards; the formatting codes are preceded by a percent sign (%). Characters that do not begin with % are copied unchanged to the TIMESTAMP. The formatting codes are listed here:

Code Description
%a Abbreviated weekday name
%A Full weekday name
%b Abbreviated month name
%B Full month name
%c Short date and time representation appropriate for locale
%#c Long date and time representation appropriate for locale
%d Day of month as decimal number (01 – 31)
%H Hour in 24-hour format (00 – 23)
%I Hour in 12-hour format (01 – 12)
%j Day of year as decimal number (001 – 366)
%m Month as decimal number (01 – 12)
%M Minute as decimal number (00 – 59)
%p Current locale's A.M./P.M. indicator for 12-hour clock
%S Second as decimal number (00 – 59)
%U Week of year as decimal number, with Sunday as first day of week (00 – 53)
%w Weekday as decimal number (0 – 6; Sunday is 0)
%W Week of year as decimal number, with Monday as first day of week (00 – 53)
%x Short date representation for current locale
%#x Long date representation for current locale
%X Time representation for current locale
%y Year without century, as decimal number (00 – 99)
%Y Year with century, as decimal number
%z, %Z Either the time-zone name or time zone abbreviation, depending on registry settings; no characters if time zone is unknown
%% Percent sign
The # flag may follow the % character to remove leading zeros (if any) in the following cases:
%#d, %#H, %#I, %#j, %#m, %#M, %#S, %#U, %#w, %#W, %#y, %#Y


Default Values:

Each timestamp has a default value. These values are given simply to show examples of the types of date and time formats that can be created. The table below shows these defaults and gives an example of how each one will resolve.

Timestamp Name Default Value Example Result
TIMESTAMPNOW1 Date: %B %#d in the year %Y Date: September 21 in the year 2003
TIMESTAMPNOW2 %Y/%m/%d,%H:%M:%S 2003/09/21,07:16:09
TIMESTAMPNOW3 %#x Sunday, September 21, 2003
TIMESTAMPFIX1 Time: %#H hours, %#M minutes & %#S seconds Time: 7 hours, 16 minutes & 9 seconds
TIMESTAMPFIX2 %I:%M:%S %p 07:16:07 AM
TIMESTAMPFIX3 %#c Sunday, September 21, 2003 07:16:09