Now Function

Returns a Variant (Date) specifying the current date and time according to the setting of the computer's system date and time.

Syntax

Now

Parameters

None. Now takes no parameters.

Return Value

Returns a Variant (Date) containing the current system date and time.

The returned value includes both the date portion (number of days since December 30, 1899) and the time portion (fractional part of a 24-hour day).

Remarks

The Now function is one of the most frequently used VB6 date/time functions for getting the current moment. It combines both date and time information in a single value.

Key Characteristics:

Returns both date and time components
Based on computer's system clock
No parameters required (parameterless function)
Commonly used for timestamps, logging, and timing operations
Can be separated into date-only or time-only using Date() or Time()
Precision to the second (does not include milliseconds)
Returns Variant (Date) type
Subject to system time zone settings

Date - Returns only the date portion (time is midnight)
Time - Returns only the time portion (date is December 30, 1899)
Now - Returns both date and time components
Timer - Returns seconds since midnight as Single (for precision timing)

Common Use Cases:

Create timestamps for logging
Record when events occur
Calculate elapsed time
Display current date and time to users
Set default values for date fields
Generate time-based filenames
Track operation start/end times
Audit trail creation

Typical Uses

Timestamps - Record when operations occur
Logging - Add timestamps to log entries
Audit Trails - Track when records are created/modified
Performance Timing - Measure operation duration
Display Current Time - Show users the current date/time
Default Values - Initialize date fields with current date/time
File Naming - Create time-stamped file names
Session Tracking - Record login/logout times

Basic Examples

' Example 1: Get current date and time
Dim currentDateTime As Date
currentDateTime = Now

' Example 2: Display to user
MsgBox "Current time is: " & Now

' Example 3: Create timestamp
Dim timestamp As String
timestamp = Format(Now, "yyyy-mm-dd hh:nn:ss")

' Example 4: Calculate elapsed time
Dim startTime As Date
startTime = Now
' ... do some work ...
MsgBox "Elapsed: " & DateDiff("s", startTime, Now) & " seconds"

Common Patterns

' Pattern 1: Simple timestamp logging
Sub LogMessage(message As String)
Debug.Print Now & " - " & message
End Sub

' Pattern 2: Formatted timestamp
Function GetTimestamp() As String
GetTimestamp = Format(Now, "yyyy-mm-dd hh:nn:ss")
End Function

' Pattern 3: Calculate operation duration
Function MeasureOperation() As Double
Dim startTime As Date
Dim endTime As Date

startTime = Now

' Perform operation
DoSomething

endTime = Now

' Return elapsed seconds
MeasureOperation = DateDiff("s", startTime, endTime)
End Function

' Pattern 4: Audit trail update
Sub UpdateRecord(recordID As Long)
Dim sql As String
sql = "UPDATE Records SET ModifiedDate = " & _
Format(Now, "\#mm\/dd\/yyyy hh:nn:ss\#") & _
" WHERE ID = " & recordID
ExecuteSQL sql
End Sub

' Pattern 5: Time-stamped filename
Function GetLogFileName() As String
GetLogFileName = "log_" & Format(Now, "yyyymmdd_hhnnss") & ".txt"
End Function

' Pattern 6: Session tracking
Sub RecordLogin(userID As Long)
Dim loginTime As Date
loginTime = Now

' Store in database or session object
Session("LoginTime") = loginTime
Session("UserID") = userID
End Sub

' Pattern 7: Timeout checking
Function IsTimedOut(startTime As Date, timeoutMinutes As Long) As Boolean
Dim elapsed As Long
elapsed = DateDiff("n", startTime, Now)
IsTimedOut = (elapsed >= timeoutMinutes)
End Function

' Pattern 8: Scheduled task checking
Function ShouldRunTask(lastRun As Date, intervalHours As Long) As Boolean
Dim hoursSinceRun As Long

If IsNull(lastRun) Then
ShouldRunTask = True
Else
hoursSinceRun = DateDiff("h", lastRun, Now)
ShouldRunTask = (hoursSinceRun >= intervalHours)
End If
End Function

' Pattern 9: Display relative time
Function GetTimeAgo(pastTime As Date) As String
Dim seconds As Long
Dim minutes As Long
Dim hours As Long

seconds = DateDiff("s", pastTime, Now)

If seconds < 60 Then
GetTimeAgo = seconds & " seconds ago"
ElseIf seconds < 3600 Then
minutes = seconds \ 60
GetTimeAgo = minutes & " minutes ago"
Else
hours = seconds \ 3600
GetTimeAgo = hours & " hours ago"
End If
End Function

' Pattern 10: Business hours check
Function IsDuringBusinessHours() As Boolean
Dim currentHour As Integer
Dim currentDay As Integer

currentHour = Hour(Now)
currentDay = Weekday(Now)

' Monday-Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM
IsDuringBusinessHours = (currentDay >= vbMonday And currentDay <= vbFriday) And _
(currentHour >= 9 And currentHour < 17)
End Function

Advanced Usage

Example 1: Performance Monitor Class

' Class: PerformanceMonitor
' Tracks operation performance with detailed timing

Option Explicit

Private m_operations As Collection

Private Type OperationTiming
operationName As String
startTime As Date
endTime As Date
duration As Double
End Type

Private Sub Class_Initialize()
Set m_operations = New Collection
End Sub

Public Sub StartOperation(operationName As String)
Dim timing As OperationTiming

timing.operationName = operationName
timing.startTime = Now
timing.endTime = 0
timing.duration = 0

m_operations.Add timing, operationName
End Sub

Public Sub EndOperation(operationName As String)
Dim timing As OperationTiming
Dim i As Long

' Find the operation
For i = 1 To m_operations.Count
timing = m_operations(i)
If timing.operationName = operationName Then
timing.endTime = Now
timing.duration = DateDiff("s", timing.startTime, timing.endTime)

' Update the collection
m_operations.Remove i
m_operations.Add timing, operationName
Exit Sub
End If
Next i
End Sub

Public Function GetDuration(operationName As String) As Double
Dim timing As OperationTiming
Dim i As Long

For i = 1 To m_operations.Count
timing = m_operations(i)
If timing.operationName = operationName Then
If timing.endTime = 0 Then
' Still running - calculate current duration
GetDuration = DateDiff("s", timing.startTime, Now)
Else
GetDuration = timing.duration
End If
Exit Function
End If
Next i

GetDuration = -1 ' Not found
End Function

Public Function GenerateReport() As String
Dim report As String
Dim timing As OperationTiming
Dim i As Long

report = "Performance Report - " & Format(Now, "yyyy-mm-dd hh:nn:ss") & vbCrLf
report = report & String(60, "-") & vbCrLf

For i = 1 To m_operations.Count
timing = m_operations(i)
report = report & timing.operationName & ": "

If timing.endTime = 0 Then
report = report & "Running (" & DateDiff("s", timing.startTime, Now) & "s)"
Else
report = report & timing.duration & " seconds"
End If

report = report & vbCrLf
Next i

GenerateReport = report
End Function

Example 2: Audit Logger Class

' Class: AuditLogger
' Logs all database operations with timestamps

Option Explicit

Private m_logFile As String
Private m_enabled As Boolean

Public Sub Initialize(logFilePath As String)
m_logFile = logFilePath
m_enabled = True
End Sub

Public Sub LogInsert(tableName As String, recordID As Variant, userName As String)
Dim entry As String
entry = FormatLogEntry("INSERT", tableName, recordID, userName, "")
WriteToLog entry
End Sub

Public Sub LogUpdate(tableName As String, recordID As Variant, userName As String, changes As String)
Dim entry As String
entry = FormatLogEntry("UPDATE", tableName, recordID, userName, changes)
WriteToLog entry
End Sub

Public Sub LogDelete(tableName As String, recordID As Variant, userName As String)
Dim entry As String
entry = FormatLogEntry("DELETE", tableName, recordID, userName, "")
WriteToLog entry
End Sub

Public Sub LogSelect(tableName As String, userName As String, criteria As String)
Dim entry As String
entry = FormatLogEntry("SELECT", tableName, "", userName, criteria)
WriteToLog entry
End Sub

Private Function FormatLogEntry(operation As String, _
tableName As String, _
recordID As Variant, _
userName As String, _
details As String) As String
Dim entry As String

entry = Format(Now, "yyyy-mm-dd hh:nn:ss") & vbTab
entry = entry & operation & vbTab
entry = entry & tableName & vbTab
entry = entry & CStr(recordID) & vbTab
entry = entry & userName & vbTab
entry = entry & details

FormatLogEntry = entry
End Function

Private Sub WriteToLog(entry As String)
Dim fileNum As Integer

If Not m_enabled Then Exit Sub

On Error Resume Next
fileNum = FreeFile
Open m_logFile For Append As #fileNum
Print #fileNum, entry
Close #fileNum
On Error GoTo 0
End Sub

Public Function GetRecentEntries(minutes As Long) As Collection
Dim entries As New Collection
Dim fileNum As Integer
Dim line As String
Dim timestamp As Date
Dim cutoffTime As Date

cutoffTime = DateAdd("n", -minutes, Now)

On Error Resume Next
fileNum = FreeFile
Open m_logFile For Input As #fileNum

Do While Not EOF(fileNum)
Line Input #fileNum, line

' Parse timestamp from first field
timestamp = CDate(Left(line, 19))

If timestamp >= cutoffTime Then
entries.Add line
End If
Loop

Close #fileNum
On Error GoTo 0

Set GetRecentEntries = entries
End Function

Example 3: Session Manager Module

' Module: SessionManager
' Manages user sessions with timeout tracking

Option Explicit

Private Type UserSession
userID As Long
userName As String
loginTime As Date
lastActivity As Date
ipAddress As String
isActive As Boolean
End Type

Private m_sessions As Collection
Private m_timeoutMinutes As Long

Public Sub Initialize(timeoutMinutes As Long)
Set m_sessions = New Collection
m_timeoutMinutes = timeoutMinutes
End Sub

Public Function CreateSession(userID As Long, userName As String, ipAddress As String) As String
Dim session As UserSession
Dim sessionID As String

' Generate unique session ID
sessionID = GenerateSessionID()

session.userID = userID
session.userName = userName
session.loginTime = Now
session.lastActivity = Now
session.ipAddress = ipAddress
session.isActive = True

m_sessions.Add session, sessionID

CreateSession = sessionID
End Function

Public Sub UpdateActivity(sessionID As String)
Dim session As UserSession

On Error Resume Next
session = m_sessions(sessionID)

If Err.Number = 0 Then
session.lastActivity = Now
m_sessions.Remove sessionID
m_sessions.Add session, sessionID
End If
On Error GoTo 0
End Sub

Public Function IsSessionValid(sessionID As String) As Boolean
Dim session As UserSession
Dim minutesIdle As Long

On Error Resume Next
session = m_sessions(sessionID)

If Err.Number <> 0 Then
IsSessionValid = False
Exit Function
End If
On Error GoTo 0

If Not session.isActive Then
IsSessionValid = False
Exit Function
End If

minutesIdle = DateDiff("n", session.lastActivity, Now)
IsSessionValid = (minutesIdle < m_timeoutMinutes)
End Function

Public Sub CleanupExpiredSessions()
Dim session As UserSession
Dim sessionID As Variant
Dim minutesIdle As Long
Dim expiredIDs As Collection

Set expiredIDs = New Collection

' Find expired sessions
For Each sessionID In m_sessions
session = m_sessions(sessionID)
minutesIdle = DateDiff("n", session.lastActivity, Now)

If minutesIdle >= m_timeoutMinutes Then
expiredIDs.Add sessionID
End If
Next sessionID

' Remove expired sessions
For Each sessionID In expiredIDs
m_sessions.Remove sessionID
Next sessionID
End Sub

Public Function GetSessionDuration(sessionID As String) As Long
Dim session As UserSession

On Error Resume Next
session = m_sessions(sessionID)

If Err.Number = 0 Then
GetSessionDuration = DateDiff("n", session.loginTime, Now)
Else
GetSessionDuration = 0
End If
On Error GoTo 0
End Function

Private Function GenerateSessionID() As String
GenerateSessionID = Format(Now, "yyyymmddhhnnss") & "_" & Int(Rnd * 10000)
End Function

Example 4: Scheduled Task Runner

' Class: ScheduledTaskRunner
' Executes tasks on a schedule based on current time

Option Explicit

Private Type ScheduledTask
taskName As String
lastRun As Date
intervalMinutes As Long
enabled As Boolean
callbackObject As Object
callbackMethod As String
End Type

Private m_tasks As Collection

Private Sub Class_Initialize()
Set m_tasks = New Collection
End Sub

Public Sub AddTask(taskName As String, _
intervalMinutes As Long, _
callbackObj As Object, _
callbackMethod As String)
Dim task As ScheduledTask

task.taskName = taskName
task.lastRun = 0
task.intervalMinutes = intervalMinutes
task.enabled = True
Set task.callbackObject = callbackObj
task.callbackMethod = callbackMethod

m_tasks.Add task, taskName
End Sub

Public Sub CheckAndRunTasks()
Dim task As ScheduledTask
Dim i As Long
Dim minutesSinceRun As Long

For i = 1 To m_tasks.Count
task = m_tasks(i)

If task.enabled Then
If task.lastRun = 0 Then
' Never run - execute now
ExecuteTask task
task.lastRun = Now
UpdateTask i, task
Else
minutesSinceRun = DateDiff("n", task.lastRun, Now)

If minutesSinceRun >= task.intervalMinutes Then
ExecuteTask task
task.lastRun = Now
UpdateTask i, task
End If
End If
End If
Next i
End Sub

Private Sub ExecuteTask(task As ScheduledTask)
On Error Resume Next
CallByName task.callbackObject, task.callbackMethod, VbMethod

If Err.Number <> 0 Then
Debug.Print "Task execution error: " & task.taskName & " - " & Err.Description
End If
On Error GoTo 0
End Sub

Private Sub UpdateTask(index As Long, task As ScheduledTask)
Dim taskName As String
taskName = task.taskName

m_tasks.Remove index
m_tasks.Add task, taskName
End Sub

Public Function GetNextRunTime(taskName As String) As Date
Dim task As ScheduledTask

On Error Resume Next
task = m_tasks(taskName)

If Err.Number = 0 Then
If task.lastRun = 0 Then
GetNextRunTime = Now ' Will run immediately
Else
GetNextRunTime = DateAdd("n", task.intervalMinutes, task.lastRun)
End If
End If
On Error GoTo 0
End Function

Public Sub EnableTask(taskName As String)
Dim task As ScheduledTask
Dim i As Long

For i = 1 To m_tasks.Count
task = m_tasks(i)
If task.taskName = taskName Then
task.enabled = True
UpdateTask i, task
Exit Sub
End If
Next i
End Sub

Public Sub DisableTask(taskName As String)
Dim task As ScheduledTask
Dim i As Long

For i = 1 To m_tasks.Count
task = m_tasks(i)
If task.taskName = taskName Then
task.enabled = False
UpdateTask i, task
Exit Sub
End If
Next i
End Sub

Error Handling

' Now rarely fails, but system clock issues can occur:
On Error Resume Next
Dim currentTime As Date
currentTime = Now
If Err.Number <> 0 Then
MsgBox "Unable to get system time: " & Err.Description
' Use a default or cached value
End If
On Error GoTo 0

Performance Considerations

Now is a fast function - safe to call frequently
For high-precision timing, use Timer function instead
Does not include milliseconds - precision is to the second
Caching Now value in tight loops can improve performance slightly
System clock access is generally very fast
No performance difference between Now, Date, and Time functions

Best Practices

Use for timestamps - Ideal for logging and audit trails
Store in Date variables - Declare as Date type, not Variant when possible
Format for display - Use Format() function for user-friendly output
Consider time zones - Now uses local system time, not UTC
Use Timer for precision - For sub-second timing, use Timer function
Cache in loops - Store Now once at loop start instead of calling repeatedly
Document timezone - Make it clear whether times are local or UTC
Use DateDiff carefully - Be aware of daylight saving time changes
Validate before math - Check for valid dates before date arithmetic
Consider Date vs Now - Use Date if you only need the date portion

Comparison with Alternatives

Function	Date Component	Time Component	Use Case
Now	Yes (current)	Yes (current)	Full timestamp
Date	Yes (current)	No (midnight)	Date-only operations
Time	No (12/30/1899)	Yes (current)	Time-only operations
Timer	No	Yes (as Single)	High-precision timing

Platform Notes

Available in VBA (Excel, Access, Word, etc.)
Available in VB6
Available in VBScript
Uses Windows system clock
Subject to system time zone settings
Affected by daylight saving time changes
No parameters required (parameterless function)
Returns local time, not UTC

Limitations

Returns local time only (no UTC option)
Precision limited to seconds (no milliseconds)
Subject to system clock changes
Date range: January 1, 100 to December 31, 9999
Can be affected by daylight saving time transitions
No built-in time zone conversion
Depends on accurate system clock

Date - Returns current date (time = midnight)
Time - Returns current time (date = 12/30/1899)
Timer - Returns seconds since midnight (for precision timing)
DateAdd - Adds time intervals to dates
DateDiff - Calculates difference between dates
Format - Formats date/time for display

VB6 Parser Notes

Now is a parameterless function that is parsed as a CallExpression. This module exists primarily for documentation purposes to provide comprehensive reference material for VB6 developers working with date and time operations, timestamps, logging, and time-based calculations.