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Intl.dateTimeFormat.formatToParts

This is an experimental technology
Check the Browser compatibility table carefully before using this in production.

The Intl.DateTimeFormat.prototype.formatToParts() method allows locale-aware formatting of strings produced by DateTimeFormat formatters.

Syntax

Intl.DateTimeFormat.prototype.formatToParts(date)

Parameters

date Optional
The date to format.

Return value

An Array of objects containing the formatted date in parts.

Description

The formatToParts() method is useful for custom formatting of date strings. It returns an Array of objects containing the locale-specific tokens from which it possible to build custom strings while preserving the locale-specific parts. The structure the formatToParts() method returns, looks like this:

[
  { type: 'day', value: '17' },
  { type: 'weekday', value: 'Monday' }
]

Possible types are the following:

day
The string used for the day, for example "17".
dayPeriod
The string used for the day period, for example, "AM" or "PM".
era
The string used for the era, for example "BC" or "AD".
hour
The string used for the hour, for example "3" or "03".
literal
The string used for separating date and time values, for example "/", ",", "o'clock", "de", etc.
minute
The string used for the minute, for example "00".
month
The string used for the month, for example "12".
second
The string used for the second, for example "07" or "42".
timeZoneName
The string used for the name of the time zone, for example "UTC".
weekday
The string used for the weekday, for example "M", "Monday", or "Montag".
year
The string used for the year, for example "2012" or "96".

Examples

DateTimeFormat outputs localized, opaque strings that cannot be manipulated directly:

var date = Date.UTC(2012, 11, 17, 3, 0, 42);

var formatter = new Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-us', {
  weekday: 'long',
  year: 'numeric',
  month: 'numeric',
  day: 'numeric',
  hour: 'numeric',
  minute: 'numeric',
  second: 'numeric',
  hour12: true,
  timeZone: 'UTC'
});

formatter.format(date);
// "Monday, 12/17/2012, 3:00:42 AM"

However, in many User Interfaces there is a desire to customize the formatting of this string. The formatToParts method enables locale-aware formatting of strings produced by DateTimeFormat formatters by providing you the string in parts:

formatter.formatToParts(date);

// return value: 
[ 
  { type: 'weekday',   value: 'Monday' }, 
  { type: 'literal',   value: ', '     }, 
  { type: 'month',     value: '12'     }, 
  { type: 'literal',   value: '/'      }, 
  { type: 'day',       value: '17'     }, 
  { type: 'literal',   value: '/'      }, 
  { type: 'year',      value: '2012'   }, 
  { type: 'literal',   value: ', '     }, 
  { type: 'hour',      value: '3'      }, 
  { type: 'literal',   value: ':'      }, 
  { type: 'minute',    value: '00'     }, 
  { type: 'literal',   value: ':'      }, 
  { type: 'second',    value: '42'     }, 
  { type: 'literal',   value: ' '      }, 
  { type: 'dayPeriod', value: 'AM'     } 
]

Now the information is available separately and it can be formatted and concatenated again in a customized way. For example by using Array.prototype.map(), arrow functions, a switch statement, template literals, and Array.prototype.reduce().

var dateString = formatter.formatToParts(date).map(({type, value}) => { 
  switch (type) {
    case 'dayPeriod': return `<b>${value}</b>`; 
    default : return value; 
  } 
}).reduce((string, part) => string + part);

This will make the day period bold, when using the formatToParts() method.

console.log(formatter.format(date));
// "Monday, 12/17/2012, 3:00:42 AM"

console.log(dateString);
// "Monday, 12/17/2012, 3:00:42 <b>AM</b>"

Polyfill

A polyfill for this feature is available in the proposal repository.

Specifications

Browser compatibility

Feature Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari
Basic support

57

55 — 601

No 51 No Yes 11
Feature Android webview Chrome for Android Edge mobile Firefox for Android IE mobile Opera Android iOS Safari
Basic support Yes 57 No 56 No No 11

1. From version 55 until version 60 (exclusive): this feature is behind the --datetime-format-to-parts runtime flag.

See also

© 2005–2018 Mozilla Developer Network and individual contributors.
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/DateTimeFormat/formatToParts