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Split Date

Extracts individual date and time components (year, month, day, hour, minute, second, weekday, etc.) from a date/time value and returns them as separate fields in an object. This node is essential for performing conditional logic, filtering, and custom date operations based on specific components.

Common Properties​

  • Name - The custom name of the node.
  • Color - The custom color of the node.
  • Delay Before (sec) - Waits in seconds before executing the node.
  • Delay After (sec) - Waits in seconds after executing node.
  • Continue On Error - Automation will continue regardless of any error. The default value is false.
info

If the ContinueOnError property is true, no error is caught when the project is executed, even if a Catch node is used.

Input​

  • Time - The date/time value to split into components. Must be formatted according to the Layout option.

Output​

  • Parts - An object containing the following date/time components:
    • year - The 4-digit year (e.g., 2024)
    • month - The month number (1-12, where 1 = January)
    • month_name - The full month name (e.g., "March")
    • day - The day of the month (1-31)
    • year_day - The day of the year (1-366)
    • weekday - The day of the week as a number (0-6, where 0 = Sunday)
    • weekday_name - The full weekday name (e.g., "Friday")
    • minute - The minute (0-59)
    • second - The second (0-59)
info

Note: The output does not include an hour field in the current implementation. If you need the hour component, you can extract it using the Format Time node with a custom format or parse it from the original time string.

Options​

  • Layout - The date/time format of the input time. Options include:
    • ANSIC - Mon Jan 2 15:04:05 2006
    • UnixDate - Mon Jan 2 15:04:05 MST 2006
    • RubyDate - Mon Jan 02 15:04:05 -0700 2006
    • RFC822 - 02 Jan 06 15:04 MST
    • RFC822Z - 02 Jan 06 15:04 -0700
    • RFC850 - Monday, 02-Jan-06 15:04:05 MST
    • RFC1123 - Mon, 02 Jan 2006 15:04:05 MST
    • RFC1123Z - Mon, 02 Jan 2006 15:04:05 -0700
    • RFC3339 - 2006-01-02T15:04:05-07:00 (default, ISO 8601)
    • RFC3339Nano - 2006-01-02T15:04:05.000000000-07:00
    • Custom - Define a custom format

How It Works​

The Split Date node parses a date/time string and extracts all components by:

  1. Parsing the input time according to the specified Layout
  2. Extracting each date and time component
  3. Creating an object with all components as separate fields
  4. Outputting the object for use in subsequent nodes

Use Cases​

Conditional Logic

  • Execute different actions based on day of week
  • Filter data by month or year
  • Apply business rules based on date components

Date Filtering

  • Process records from specific months
  • Identify weekend vs. weekday data
  • Filter by quarter or season

Custom Formatting

  • Build custom date strings using individual components
  • Create localized date displays
  • Generate specialized date representations

Date Analysis

  • Calculate quarterly reports
  • Identify patterns by day of week
  • Group data by month or year

Business Logic

  • Apply different rates based on month
  • Implement day-of-week specific rules
  • Handle special cases for specific dates

Examples​

Example 1: Split a Standard Date

Time: 2024-03-15T14:30:45Z
Layout: RFC3339
Output:
{
  "year": 2024,
  "month": 3,
  "month_name": "March",
  "day": 15,
  "year_day": 75,
  "weekday": 5,
  "weekday_name": "Friday",
  "minute": 30,
  "second": 45
}

Example 2: First Day of Year

Time: 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z
Layout: RFC3339
Output:
{
  "year": 2024,
  "month": 1,
  "month_name": "January",
  "day": 1,
  "year_day": 1,
  "weekday": 1,
  "weekday_name": "Monday",
  "minute": 0,
  "second": 0
}

Example 3: Leap Year Day

Time: 2024-02-29T12:00:00Z
Layout: RFC3339
Output:
{
  "year": 2024,
  "month": 2,
  "month_name": "February",
  "day": 29,
  "year_day": 60,
  "weekday": 4,
  "weekday_name": "Thursday",
  "minute": 0,
  "second": 0
}

Component Reference​

Weekday Numbers

  • 0 = Sunday
  • 1 = Monday
  • 2 = Tuesday
  • 3 = Wednesday
  • 4 = Thursday
  • 5 = Friday
  • 6 = Saturday

Month Numbers

  • 1 = January
  • 2 = February
  • 3 = March
  • 4 = April
  • 5 = May
  • 6 = June
  • 7 = July
  • 8 = August
  • 9 = September
  • 10 = October
  • 11 = November
  • 12 = December

Year Day

  • Ranges from 1 to 365 (or 366 in leap years)
  • January 1 = 1
  • December 31 = 365 (or 366)

Accessing Components​

After splitting the date, you can access individual components using dot notation:

// Access year
var year = msg.parts.year;

// Access month name
var monthName = msg.parts.month_name;

// Access day of week
var dayOfWeek = msg.parts.weekday;

// Check if it's a weekend
var isWeekend = msg.parts.weekday === 0 || msg.parts.weekday === 6;

// Check if it's a specific month
var isDecember = msg.parts.month === 12;

Workflow Examples​

Example 1: Execute Different Logic for Weekends

  1. Get current date using Now node
  2. Use Split Date node to extract components
  3. Use If node: Check msg.parts.weekday === 0 || msg.parts.weekday === 6
  4. If true: Execute weekend workflow
  5. If false: Execute weekday workflow

Example 2: Generate Monthly Reports

  1. Get date from record
  2. Use Split Date to extract month
  3. Group records by msg.parts.month
  4. Generate report for each month

Example 3: Filter Data by Quarter

  1. Get record date
  2. Use Split Date to extract month
  3. Calculate quarter using JavaScript: 
    var quarter = Math.ceil(msg.parts.month / 3);
    msg.quarter = quarter;
  4. Filter by desired quarter

Example 4: Check Business Hours

  1. Get current time using Now node
  2. Use Split Date to extract weekday
  3. Check if weekday is 1-5 (Monday-Friday)
  4. Also check hour range (requires separate hour extraction)

Example 5: Birthday Reminder

  1. Get user's birthdate
  2. Use Split Date to extract month and day
  3. Compare with current month and day
  4. Send reminder if match

Tips for Effective Use​

  • Store Components - Save the parts object to a message property for reuse across multiple nodes
  • Weekday Logic - Remember Sunday = 0, Monday = 1, making weekend checks straightforward
  • Month Names - Use month_name for user-facing displays, month number for calculations
  • Year Day - Useful for calculating "day X of year" metrics or identifying specific dates
  • Combine with If Node - Use extracted components in conditional statements for routing logic
  • Quarter Calculations - Calculate quarters with: Math.ceil(month / 3)
  • Season Calculations - Determine seasons based on month number
  • Missing Hour - If you need the hour component, use Format Time with custom format to extract it separately

Common Errors and Solutions​

Error: "failed to parse input time"

  • Cause: Input time format doesn't match the Layout specification
  • Solution: Ensure the input time is formatted according to the selected Layout

Error: "time is required"

  • Cause: No value provided for the Time input
  • Solution: Provide a valid date/time string in the Time input field

Undefined component when accessing

  • Cause: Typo in component name or trying to access non-existent component
  • Solution: Verify the component name matches exactly (e.g., month_name, not monthName)

Hour component not available

  • Cause: The hour field is not included in the output object
  • Solution: Use Format Time node with custom format 15 to extract the hour, or parse it from the original time string

Practical Examples​

Example: Filter Weekend Orders

// After Split Date node
if (msg.parts.weekday === 0 || msg.parts.weekday === 6) {
    msg.orderType = "Weekend Order";
    // Apply weekend pricing
} else {
    msg.orderType = "Weekday Order";
    // Apply regular pricing
}

Example: Generate Fiscal Quarter

// After Split Date node
var month = msg.parts.month;

// For fiscal year starting in April
var fiscalMonth = month < 4 ? month + 9 : month - 3;
msg.fiscalQuarter = Math.ceil(fiscalMonth / 3);
msg.fiscalYear = month < 4 ? msg.parts.year - 1 : msg.parts.year;

Example: Check Holiday (Christmas)

// After Split Date node
if (msg.parts.month === 12 && msg.parts.day === 25) {
    msg.isHoliday = true;
    msg.holidayName = "Christmas";
}

Example: Calculate Age in Years

// Split current date
var currentYear = msg.currentParts.year;
var currentMonth = msg.currentParts.month;
var currentDay = msg.currentParts.day;

// Split birthdate
var birthYear = msg.birthParts.year;
var birthMonth = msg.birthParts.month;
var birthDay = msg.birthParts.day;

// Calculate age
var age = currentYear - birthYear;
if (currentMonth < birthMonth ||
    (currentMonth === birthMonth && currentDay < birthDay)) {
    age--;
}
msg.age = age;
  • Format Time - Convert date formats or extract specific components
  • Now - Get current date to split
  • Is Leap Year - Check if the extracted year is a leap year
  • Add Time - Modify dates based on extracted components