Question

I have the following field :

@Html.TextBoxFor(model => model.Patient.dateOfBirth, new { id = "datepicker", @class = "double text white" })

It is a DateTime field that has the following metadata definition:

 [Required(ErrorMessage = "Date Of Birth is required")]
 [DisplayFormat(DataFormatString = "{0:dd MMM yyyy}")]
 public DateTime dateOfBirth;

The issue is that i need it to show the DOB as d/m/y but as a datetime cause i am using a datepicker that needs the value to remain DateTime.

Date picker returns a value that has the dd/mm/yy format. (.ToShortDateString() cant save me this time )

I’ve tried Darin Dimitrov Answers from here and here , but unless I am a complete moron those don’t really work for me.

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Later Edit:

I have managed to find the solution for this and wanted to share it with whomever needs it from now on.

 @Html.HiddenFor(model => model.DOBirth, new { id = "shortDate", @class = "double text white" })

 @Html.TextBox(" ", Model != null ? Model.dateOfBirth.Value.ToShortDateString() : string.Empty, new { id = "datepicker", @class = "double text white" })

And use the following Jquery :

 $('#datepicker').datepicker({
            changeMonth: true,
            changeYear: true,
            inline: true,
            onSelect: function (dateText, inst) { CalculateAge(dateText); } //an extra method
        });

Store the value you get into your hidden field ( via Jquery through the id of the hidden field “shortDate”) and thus you can send the value back to the controller

Answer 1

I’ve tried Darin Dimitrov Answers from here and here , but unless I am
a complete moron those don’t really work for me.

That’s because you forgot to add ApplyFormatInEditMode = true in your [DisplayFormat] attribute:

[Required(ErrorMessage = "Date Of Birth is required")]
[DisplayFormat(DataFormatString = "{0:dd MMM yyyy}", ApplyFormatInEditMode = true)]
public DateTime dateOfBirth;

and then:

@Html.EditorFor(model => model.Patient.dateOfBirth)

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Another possibility is to write a custom editor template for a date picker:

[Required(ErrorMessage = "Date Of Birth is required")]
[DisplayFormat(DataFormatString = "{0:dd MMM yyyy}", ApplyFormatInEditMode = true)]
[UIHint("DatePicker")]
public DateTime dateOfBirth;

and inside ~/Views/Shared/EditorTemplates/DatePicker.cshtml:

@Html.TextBox(
    "", 
    ViewData.TemplateInfo.FormattedModelValue, 
    new { @class = "double text white datepicker" }
)

and inside your view:

@Html.EditorFor(model => model.Patient.dateOfBirth)

Notice that I have applied the datepicker class instead of using an id to aviod conflicts if you have more than one DateTime field. You will need to adapt your selector accordingly: $('.datepicker').datepicker(); instead of $('#datepicker').datepicker(); that you are currently using.