Date and time formats
All date and time formats should be localizable, not hard-coded. When building localizable date and time formats, development teams should share the same library by using resources like date-fns or Day.js.
PatternFly date and time formats follow the American standard. When localizing, use the appropriate format for the language locale and follow ISO standards.
Element | Guideline | Example |
|---|---|---|
Date | Use Month DD, YYYY | September 17, 2020 Sep 17, 2020 |
Date numeric value | When you represent the date as a numeric value or label, use MM-DD-YYYY. | 09-17-2020 |
Time | Display time in either 12-hour or 24-hour (UTC) time. | 12-hour: 3:00 PM With seconds: 3:30:11 PM 24-hour: 15:00 |
12-hour time notation | This time convention divides the 24 hours of the day into 2 periods of 12 hours, AM and PM. 12-hour time notation is the American standard. | 3:00 PM |
24-hour time notation | This time convention divides the day by 24 hours and runs from midnight to midnight. The hours are represented from 0 to 23. | 14:00 |
Date and time | Include the timestamp, along with the timezone, after the date. | Thursday, January 21, 2019 9:38:11 PM EST Thursday, 21 January 2019, 9:38:11 PM EST 07 Jan 2019, 23:33 UTC |
Time zone | Display time in the user's time zone or in UTC. Use UTC when spanning multiple time zones. | Maintenance begins today at 14:00 UTC (2 PM EST). |
Day | Write out the full name of the day. If space is limited, use the day’s 3-letter abbreviation:
| Monday, September 17, 2020 Mon, Sep 17, 2020 |
Month | Write out the full name of the month. If space is limited, use the month’s 3-letter abbreviation.
| September 17, 2020 Sep 17, 2020 |
Duration | HH:MM:SS or HH:MM | 03:15:30 03:15 00:15 |
Absolute or relative time
Whether you use absolute or relative timestamps will depend on context.
Absolute time
To represent the exact date and time that an event occurred, use an absolute timestamp. For example, "07 Jan 2020, 23:33 UTC". For more examples, reference the table of date and time formats.
Relative time
To represent how long ago an event occurred, use a relative timestamp. When reporting relative time, align with the following language:
Time frame | Guideline | Relative timestamp(s) |
|---|---|---|
Less than 1 minute ago | Do not display time in seconds or milliseconds. | Just now |
Less than 1 hour ago | Display time in minutes, rounded to the nearest minute. | 1 minute ago 4 minutes ago |
Less than 1 day ago | Display time in hours, rounded to the nearest hour. | 1 hour ago 4 hours ago |
Less than 1 month ago | Display time in days. | 1 day ago 24 days ago |
Less than 1 year ago | Display time in months, rounded to the nearest month. | 1 month ago 10 months ago |
1 or more years ago | Display time in years, rounded to the nearest year. | 1 year ago 5 years ago |
Numbers and currency
To allow users to more quickly scan through content, use numerals instead of written numbers.
Before | After |
|---|---|
Your transaction will be complete in three business days. | Your transaction will be complete in 3 business days. |
You have a credit of two dollars. | You have a credit of US$2.00. |
Digit grouping
When grouping digits within large numbers, use the American notation standard. Separate thousands with a comma and separate cents with a decimal. For example:
- 1,000,000,000
- 1,000,000.00
Currency
When displaying currencies that only use the "$" symbol, add the first 2 letters of the ISO currency code. For example:
- US$1,500 (United States)
- AU$1,500 (Australia)
- HK$1,500 (Hong Kong)
- CA$1,500 (Canada)
For other currencies, use their 3-letter ISO code wherever possible. You can use national currency symbols, but keep in mind that some users may not be familiar with them. When in doubt, default to ISO. For example:
- EUR 1,500 or £1,500 (British pound)
- GPB 1,500 or €1,500 (Euro)
- JPY 1,500 or ¥1,500 (Japanese Yen)
Use a currency's ISO 3-digit numeric code when writing for computerized systems or for countries that don't use Latin scripts.
Country | Currency | Alphabetic code | Numeric code |
|---|---|---|---|
United States | Dollar | USD | 840 |
China | Yuan | CNY | 156 |
European Union | Euro | EUR | 978 |
United Kingdom | Pound | GBP | 826 |
Generally, we don't provide currency conversions.
