Change date format

Question

I would like to query the "Account Expires" field and output it as the default entry in description but I prefer the format Jun 7 2013 and not 06/07/13.

There are just too many ways to understand 06/07/13 with staff from every imaginable country.

Any ideas?

Answer 1

Hello,

This can be easily done with PowerShell scripts. You can create a PowerShell script that updates a user's description with the expiration date of the user's account and add the script to a Custom Command, Scheduled Task or Business Rule with the help of the Run a program or PowerShell script action.

For example, if you want to set the value of the Account Expires property as the default description for all newly created users:

1. Create a new Business Rule.

2. On the 2nd step of the Create Business Rule action, select User and After Creating a User.
   

3. On the 3rd step, add the Run a program or PowerShell script action and paste the following script in the Script field:
   

    $dateConversionFormat = "MMM d yyyy" # TODO: Modify me
   
    $accountExpires = $Context.TargetObject.Get("accountExpires")
    if ($accountExpires -eq 9223372036854775807)
    {
        $Context.TargetObject.Put("Description", "Account never expires")
    }
    else
    {
        $expirationDate = $Context.TargetObject.AccountExpirationDate.ToString($dateConversionFormat)
        $Context.TargetObject.Put("Description", "Account expires on $expirationDate")
    }
   
    $Context.TargetObject.SetInfo()
   

4. In the script, $dateConversionFormat specifies how the date should be converted into a string. For information on how you can specify different date conversion formats, see the Custom Date and Time Format Strings article by Microsoft.

5. When done with the script, finish creation of the Business Rule.