Date$ Function

Returns the current system date as a String. The dollar sign suffix ($) explicitly indicates that this function returns a String type (not a Variant).

Syntax

Date$

Parameters

None. The Date$ function takes no parameters.

Return Value

Returns a String containing the current system date. The format depends on the system's regional settings (typically "mm/dd/yyyy" in US or "dd/mm/yyyy" in other regions). The return value is always a String type (never Variant).

Remarks

• The Date$ function always returns a String, while Date (without $) returns a Variant of subtype Date.
• Returns only the date portion (no time information).
• Uses system date from computer's clock.
• Date format depends on system locale/regional settings.
• Common formats: "mm/dd/yyyy" (US), "dd/mm/yyyy" (Europe), "yyyy/mm/dd" (ISO).
• The string representation may include leading zeros (e.g., "01/05/2025").
• For better performance when you need a string, use Date$ instead of Date.
• Cannot be used to set the system date (unlike Date statement).

Typical Uses

1. Date stamping - Add date stamps to log entries, files, or records
2. Display formatting - Show current date to users
3. File naming - Include date in filenames
4. Logging - Record when events occurred
5. Report generation - Add date headers to reports
6. Audit trails - Track when data was created or modified
7. String concatenation - Combine date with other text

Basic Examples

' Example 1: Get current date as string
Dim dateStr As String
dateStr = Date$

' Example 2: Display current date
MsgBox "Today is: " & Date$

' Example 3: Create date stamp
Dim stamp As String
stamp = "Report generated on " & Date$

' Example 4: Simple assignment
currentDate = Date$

Common Patterns

File Naming with Date

Function CreateDateStampedFilename(baseName As String) As String
Dim dateStr As String
Dim cleanDate As String

' Get date and remove slashes
dateStr = Date$
cleanDate = Replace$(dateStr, "/", "")

CreateDateStampedFilename = baseName & "_" & cleanDate & ".txt"
End Function

Log Entry with Date

Sub WriteLogEntry(message As String)
Dim logFile As Integer
Dim logEntry As String

logFile = FreeFile
Open "application.log" For Append As #logFile

logEntry = Date$ & " - " & message
Print #logFile, logEntry

Close #logFile
End Sub

Date-Based Conditional Logic

Sub CheckDate()
Dim todayStr As String
todayStr = Date$

' Simple string comparison (locale-dependent)
If todayStr = "12/25/2025" Then
MsgBox "Merry Christmas!"
End If
End Sub

Report Header

Function CreateReportHeader(title As String) As String
Dim header As String
header = String$(60, "=") & vbCrLf
header = header & title & vbCrLf
header = header & "Generated: " & Date$ & vbCrLf
header = header & String$(60, "=") & vbCrLf
CreateReportHeader = header
End Function

Date Display in Status Bar

Sub UpdateStatusBar()
Form1.StatusBar.Panels(1).Text = "Date: " & Date$
End Sub

Backup File Naming

Function GetBackupFilename(originalFile As String) As String
Dim baseName As String
Dim extension As String
Dim dotPos As Integer
Dim dateStr As String

dotPos = InStrRev(originalFile, ".")
If dotPos > 0 Then
baseName = Left$(originalFile, dotPos - 1)
extension = Mid$(originalFile, dotPos)
Else
baseName = originalFile
extension = ""
End If

' Clean date string for filename
dateStr = Replace$(Date$, "/", "-")

GetBackupFilename = baseName & "_backup_" & dateStr & extension
End Function

Daily Log File

Function GetDailyLogFilename() As String
Dim dateStr As String
dateStr = Replace$(Date$, "/", "")
GetDailyLogFilename = "log_" & dateStr & ".txt"
End Function

Date Validation (Simple)

Function IsToday(dateStr As String) As Boolean
IsToday = (dateStr = Date$)
End Function

Combining Date and Time

Function GetDateTimeStamp() As String
GetDateTimeStamp = Date$ & " " & Time$
End Function

Data Export Header

Sub ExportData()
Dim exportFile As Integer

exportFile = FreeFile
Open "export.csv" For Output As #exportFile

' Write header with date
Print #exportFile, "Data Export - " & Date$
Print #exportFile, "Name,Value,Status"

' Export data...

Close #exportFile
End Sub

Related Functions

• Date: Returns current date as Variant instead of String
• Now: Returns current date and time
• Time$: Returns current time as String
• Format$: Formats dates with custom patterns
• Year: Extracts year from date
• Month: Extracts month from date
• Day: Extracts day from date
• DateSerial: Creates date from year, month, day
• DateValue: Converts string to date

Best Practices

1. Use Format$ instead of Date$ when you need specific date formats
2. Be aware that Date$ format depends on system locale settings
3. For file naming, clean the date string (remove or replace slashes)
4. Use Date$ instead of Date when you need a string result
5. For date comparisons, use Date (Variant) instead of Date$ (String)
6. Don't assume a specific date format - it varies by locale
7. For consistent formatting, use Format$(Date, "yyyy-mm-dd")
8. Test with different regional settings if your app is international
9. Store dates in consistent format (ISO 8601 recommended)
10. Use DateValue to parse date strings reliably

Performance Considerations

• Date$ is slightly more efficient than Date when you need a string
• System date/time calls are fast but not free
• Cache the result if you need it multiple times in quick succession
• For high-frequency logging, consider caching the date string

Locale Considerations

The format of Date$ varies by system locale:

Common Pitfalls

1. String Comparison: Comparing Date$ strings directly is locale-dependent and unreliable

' BAD - locale-dependent
If Date$ = "12/25/2025" Then

' GOOD - use Date variants
If Date = #12/25/2025# Then

1. Date Parsing: Don't parse Date$ manually - use DateValue instead

' BAD - fragile parsing
parts = Split(Date$, "/")

' GOOD - use built-in functions
currentYear = Year(Date)
currentMonth = Month(Date)

1. Filename Safety: Date strings may contain invalid filename characters

' BAD - slashes invalid in filenames
filename = "report_" & Date$ & ".txt"

' GOOD - replace invalid characters
filename = "report_" & Replace$(Date$, "/", "-") & ".txt"

Limitations

• Cannot be used to set the system date (use Date statement for that)
• Format is system-dependent and cannot be directly controlled
• No time information included (use Now or Time$ for time)
• String comparison of dates is unreliable across locales
• Cannot specify date format (use Format$ for custom formats)