My question is similar to this SO problem, but it does not answer my

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Editorial Team

Asked: June 17, 20262026-06-17T20:18:33+00:00 2026-06-17T20:18:33+00:00

My question is similar to this SO problem, but it does not answer my question:

I understand that I can add

Time::DATE_FORMATS[:default] = "%Y/%m/%d"

to my environment.rb and it will change my default time format accordingly.

So when I do Time.now.to_s I get the correct format.

However, my question is, how come this does not work with a form_builder. For example:

<%= f.text_field :date %>

will return a full UTC timestamp: 2013-01-25 07:45:21

I am aware that I can do this

<%= f.text_field :date, :value => @post.date.to_s %>

And it will give me the correct format.

But this solution seems hacky to me. Is this really the only way to do it?

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Editorial Team · Answer 1 · 2026-06-17T20:18:34+00:00

Editorial Team

I am not 100% sure. But the answer is most likely no. The rails formhelper just gives you whatever value that is in your database.

Here is where the value is retrieved for your reference:

There is no special processing of it, such as localize or to_s, which is where formatting is applied.

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