If a button appears to the right of a field, any data entered in the field must represent a date. You can enter the date manually, or you can click the calendar icon to select the date from a calendar.

• Entering Dates Manually

  The Time & Attendance module has been configured to recognize most common formats for entering dates. You must use numerals to indicate days and years in your entry. You can use either numerals or an abbreviated  form (three letters) of a month name to specify the month. Although they are not necessary, you can also use a forward slash (/) to separate the day, month, and year in your entry.

  After you have entered a valid date and tabbed to the next field or clicked elsewhere on the page, the Time & Attendance module will convert the date from the format you entered to the preferred format, which varies according to the language in which the application is displayed. If your entry is in a format that the Time & Attendance module cannot interpret, a dialog box will indicate the error and specify what the preferred date format is for the language you are using.

  Tips:
  If you enter a month and date but no year, the Time & Attendance module will assume the current year, unless the current date is between January 1 and March 31. If the current date falls in this range and you enter a date between November 1 and December 31 without specifying a year, the Time & Attendance module will assume the previous year.
  
  If you use an abbreviated date format, your entry may be ambiguous. For instance, if you use only one digit to represent the month or date, or if you use only two digits to represent the year, there may be more than one valid date interpretation for your entry. For this reason, it is best to use two digits each for the month and day and four digits for the year.

• Using the Calendar to Enter Dates

  When you click the next to a date field, a pop-up calendar window opens. You can use this window to select the date to enter on the form. By default, the calendar displays the current month, with the current day selected, when you first open it. However, if a valid date has already been entered in the corresponding date field, the calendar opens on the specified date rather than the current date.

  To select a date from the calendar, simply click the date of your choice. When you click on a date, the calendar window closes and the selected date is entered automatically in the appropriate date field.

  If the date you want to select is not visible on the calendar, use the drop down menus to select a month and year. You can also use the and buttons to scroll backward or forward in the calendar one month at a time or the button to return to the current month, with the current date selected.

  Tips:
  The year drop-down selector displays ten years before and ten years after the last selected year. If you need to see years outside of this range, first select the year in the displayed range that is closest to the year you are trying to view. Then click the drop-down again, and the ten years before and after the newly selected year will be displayed. Continue this procedure until the year you are seeking is within range.
  
  Although some forms contain more than one date field, you cannot have two calendars open simultaneously. If you click on the for a date field while a calendar is already open, the existing calendar window will refresh and be associated with the second date field. If you make a date selection on the calendar, the date will be entered into the last date field for which you clicked .

  Note: The current year is always visible and highlighted in the drop-down list, even if the +/- range being displayed does not include the current year.

Note: The Time & Attendance Schedules page can display scheduling information for up to 100 employees and up to 31 days. The date selection tools on this tab include a special calendar lookup button () for selecting the end date of your desired date range. When you click this button, a pop-up calendar opens that begins with the selected start date and contains only 31 dates. If you hover the mouse pointer over a date on this calendar, the calendar indicates how many days would be included in the schedule grid if you clicked that particular date. This tool prevents you from selecting a date range of more than 31 days. For more information about using the date selection tools on the Schedules page, see Viewing Scheduling Information for a Specific Date Range .