Enable users to add an additional format to be used to recognise dates in file names

[lexuna]

⚠️ Please check that this feature request hasn't been suggested before.

• I searched previous Ideas in Discussions didn't find any similar feature requests.
• I searched previous Issues didn't find any similar feature requests.

🔖 Feature description

I'd like to have the ability to customise the date format e.g. to the european DD.MM.YYYY

✔️ Solution

A field in the configuration to customise the date format, like in other plugins. E.g. the daily note plugin:

With this option i'll be able to combine the plugins and use the "use file name as scheduled date for undatet tasts"

❓ Alternatives

A alternative is that the "use file name as scheduled date for undatet tasts" option is compatible with other patterns than YYYY-MM-DD

📝 Additional Context

No response

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Edited 2022-12-04

Please see the comment below for an updated description.

[claremacrae]

Hi, I'm curious to know how you searched for similar requests, as this is a duplicate of #1254, #1273, #1252, #500, #824 and likely many others.

Is there something more I can do to help people save their time creating duplicates?

Thanks in advance.

[claremacrae]

For example, searching for "date format" in Discussions shows these:
https://github.com/obsidian-tasks-group/obsidian-tasks/discussions?discussions_q=%22date+format%22

This is far from the only duplicate that gets created - so I promise that this is not a complaint about this particular issue.

I'm honestly just trying to save users' time.

[claremacrae]

Hmmmm - maybe it partly isn't a duplicate after all.

If so, my apologies.

I read the title ("Customise date format") and this feature description to mean it was the same as existing requests - to allow different date formats on things like 📅

I'd like to have the ability to customise the date format e.g. to the european DD.MM.YYYY

Re-reading the later text, it sounds like the fundamental part is more specifically to allow a custom date format for "use file name as scheduled date for undated tasks".

Any chance the summary could be made more specific please?

[lexuna]

Yes the fundamental part is the custom date format for "use file name as scheduled date for undated tasks". I'm used to the european format so i use the daily note with that format. So it would be nice if i could use option "use file name as scheduled date for undated tasks" but i don't want to change to the YYYY-MM-DD in the daily notes. But i don't need a format change for all shown dates. So i only mean/need the compatibility with other formats at this option.

[claremacrae]

Brilliant. Thank you very much for the suggestion.

I'll have a think about the wording and update the issue, so it's clear for anyone who feels like implementing it.

[claremacrae]

Context

Daily Note plugins allow users to customise the format to use for the names of daily note files.

Some countries use different formats to the YYYY-MM-DD and YYYYMMDD options currently supported by 'Use filename as Scheduled date for undated tasks'.

For example, some European users will use DD.MM.YYYY

🔖 Feature description (updated)

Enable users to add an additional format to be used to recognise dates in file names.

Likely with a new field in the Date Settings section of the Tasks options.

[claremacrae]

In view of this size of the backlog for this project, and the demotivating effect of a very long backlog on volunteer energy levels, I'm going through a slow process of reviewing tasks for things that are one or more of the following:

• unlikely to be realistically achievable, from the design of the current code, and the planned future refactorings
• not sufficiently high priority to a broad community of users, based on the feedback I receive from a variety of sources
• do not fit the core purpose of the Tasks plugin
• are better covered by a different plugin - to share the development and maintenance effort

So I'm marking this one as 'not planned'. This doesn't mean 'won't fix' - it means not likely to be done in the foreseeable future.

[CasualRoses]

Just came across this plugin and have begun migrating tasks from Todoist, sad to see this issue closed. I would love to see custom (or at least additional) date formats. Never thought I'd be so picky about date formats, but here we are!

I read this thread and understand the reasons for de-prioritizing this request, if my comment is enough to raise it up - great. Still a novice with Obsidian and Github, so thanks for all the effort already put forward.

[rdotto]

I think this would be a great addition