Sortable ("s") Format Specifier in LightSwitch 2012

Here we will see how to use the Sortable("s") Format Specifier in LightSwitch Visual Studio 2012.

The Sortable ("s") Format Specifier is used to represent a
custom date and time format specifier property. Since this property is read-only, it is always the same, regardless of the culture used or the format provider supplied. Hence,the format string is "yyyy'-'MM'-'dd'T'HH':'mm':'ss".

Note that the Date Time Picker and the Date Time Viewer control will ignore the Format Pattern property. Only the TextBox and the Label controls will recognize this property.
 
Use the following procedure to create a sample showing how to use the Sortable(s) Format Specifier on a Screen.

Step 1

Open the LightSwitch Application in Visual Studio 2012 and go to the Solution Explorer.

Solution Explorer

Right-click on "Data Sources" and choose "Add Table".

Add Table

The table appears in the table designer window. Insert the records in the following table.

Employee Table

Step 2

Now once again go to the Solution Explorer, right-click on "Screens" and choose "Add Screen".

Add Screen

The Add New Screen dialog box appears. Select the "Editable Grid Screen" from the Screen Template, inside the screen information, choose "Employee" under the screen data and provide some name to the Screen and click the "OK" button.

Add New Screen

The Screen Designer appears as shown below.

Screen Designer

Step 3

Press F5 to run the application. Provide the information. 

editable grid screen output

Step 4

Now stop debugging the application. From the Table designer select the "DOJ" record as shown in the figure below.

Select DOJ from Employee

Then go to the Format Pattern of the Property window in the Table Designer and enter "s" in the format pattern as shown below.


s Format Specifier Properties

Once again press F5 to run the application. This time we will get the following output.

output of Sortable date time


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