!3 today
By default, the date is today's date, of the form "d MMM yyyy":

|''with date''|
|''create variable''|date|

|'''show'''|''get''|@{date}|

The ''create variable'' row specifies the variable to create.
----!3 In the past
Let's go back in time:

|''with date''|
|''-''|2|''years''|
|''+''|2|''months''|
|''create variable''|past|

|'''show'''|''get''|@{past}|

 * In general, we can go back/forward in ''years'', ''months'', ''days'' and ''minutes''.
 * The ''create variable'' row has to be after altering the date/time
----!3 In the future
|''with date''|
|''+''|2|''months''|
|''create variable''|future|

|'''show'''|''get''|@{future}|
----!3 Date Format
We can specify the date format for one or more variables, picking out different aspects of a date/time (eg, for selecting from a pull-down in a web browser):

|''with date''|
|''create variable''|day#|''with format''|d|
|''create variable''|day00#|''with format''|dd|
|''create variable''|month#|''with format''|M|
|''create variable''|month00#|''with format''|MM|
|''create variable''|monthShort|''with format''|MMM|
|''create variable''|monthLong|''with format''|MMMM|
|''create variable''|hour|''with format''|h:mma|

|'''show'''|''get''|day @{day#} (or @{day00#}) of @{monthLong} (or @{monthShort} or @{month00#} or @{month#}) at @{hour}|

Here the variables all apply to the same date (see the complex example below for variation on this).
  * "d" is the day number of the month (1..31). "dd" will ensure there are two digits.
  * "h:mma" formats it as a 12-hour clock with AM/PM.
  * For possible date/time formats, see ''help'' below.
----!3 Format for day of the week (Monday, etc)
|''with date''|
|''create variable''|dayOfWeek|''with format''|EEEE|

|'''show'''|''get''|@{dayOfWeek}|
----!3 Time zone selection
|''with date''|
|''time zone''|America/Los_Angeles|
|''create variable''|us-date|

|show|get|@{us-date}|

See ''help'' below for possible time zones
----!3 Upper case month name
In the following we pick a particular date for today so that these examples continue to work (in NZ only). The ''pick date time'' row is intended for testing only.

|''with date''|
|''pick date time''|1243987143111|
|''to upper''|
|''create variable''|DATE|''with format''|EEEE d MMM yyy H:mm|

|''get''|@{DATE}|'''is'''|WEDNESDAY 3 JUN 2009 11:59|

|''with date''|
|''pick date time''|1243987143111|
|''time zone''|Pacific/Auckland|
|''+''|30|''days''|
|''create variable''|pickupdate1|''with format''|dd MMM yy|
|''+''|40|''days''|
|''create variable''|dropoffdate1|''with format''|dd MMM yy|

|''get''|@{pickupdate1} -- @{dropoffdate1}|'''is'''|03 Jul 09 -- 12 Aug 09|

----!3 Selecting the day of the week required
We can specify the day of the week required.

|''with date''|
|''pick date time''|1243987143111|
|''+''|1|''years''|
|''+''|3|''weeks''|
|''on Friday''|
|''create variable''|friday|''with format''|EEEE d MMMM yyyy|

|''get''|@{friday}|'''is'''|Friday 25 June 2010|

Any day of the week can be selected. The date is moved forward into the future and backwards into the past to the right day.
----!3 Last day of the month
|''with date''|
|''pick date time''|1243987143111|
|''time zone''|America/Los_Angeles|
|''+''|2|''months''|
|''last day of month''|
|''create variable''|usa-end-of-month|''with format''|EEEE d MMMM|
|''+''|1|''days''|
|''create variable''|plus1|''with format''|EEEE d MMMM|

|''get''|@{usa-end-of-month}|'''is'''|Monday 31 August|
|''get''|@{plus1}|'''is'''|Tuesday 1 September|

----!3 Start with an existing date
|''with date''|
|''date is''|3 June 2009|''using''|d MMMM YYYY|
|''+''|2|''months''|
|''last day of month''|
|''create variable''|end-of-month|''with format''|EEEE d MMMM|

|''get''|@{end-of-month}|'''is'''|Monday 31 August|

----!3 A crazy example, showing how that the ordering of the rows is important
|''with date''|
|''pick date time''|1243987143111|
|''time zone''|America/Los_Angeles|
|''+''|2|''months''|
|''-''|4|''minutes''|
|''on Thursday''|
|''create variable''|usa-date|''with format''|EEEE d MMMM yyyy|
|''create variable''|usa-time|''with format''|H:mm|
|''last day of month''|
|''create variable''|usa-end-of-month|''with format''|EEEE d MMMM|

|''get''|@{usa-date} at @{usa-time}, ending on @{usa-end-of-month}|'''is'''|Thursday 6 August 2009 at 16:55, ending on Monday 31 August|

Notice that:
 * The date of ''usa-date'' differs from ''usa-end-of-month''. A variable is created using the date/time set up previously in the table.
 * When we select the ''last day of the month'', the ''on Thursday'' is ignored.
----!3 Help information
For the possible date/time formats and possible time zones, run the test and expand the logs that are added after the table below:

|''with date''|
|''help''|