# Text to dates

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/text-to-dates/104208>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [May 15, 2007, 12:55pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/text-to-dates/104208 "2007-05-15T12:55:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![andy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@andy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/andy)\
**Post date:** [May 15, 2007, 12:55pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/text-to-dates/104208/1 "2007-05-15T12:55:40Z")

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Does anyone have any standard functions they use to input and create  
dates and times from a text field?

A bit like the Add Event on Basecamp’s calendar…  
[http://www.37signals.com/svn/archives2/the\_long\_road\_to\_simple\_creating\_debating\_and\_iterating\_add\_an\_event.php](http://www.37signals.com/svn/archives2/the_long_road_to_simple_creating_debating_and_iterating_add_an_event.php)

Or perhaps seen examples elsewhere on the web of date parsing using  
regular expressions?

Cheers for any guidance you can give!

Andy C.

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**Author:** ![andy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@andy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/andy)\
**Post date:** [May 15, 2007, 3:44pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/text-to-dates/104208/2 "2007-05-15T15:44:07Z")

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Andy C. wrote:

> Does anyone have any standard functions they use to input and create  
> dates and times from a text field?

Have you tried chronic?

Eric

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**Author:** ![andy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@andy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/andy)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 12:22pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/text-to-dates/104208/3 "2007-05-16T12:22:56Z")

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That looks like just the thing! Thanks Eric!