Format time as a.m./p.m. instead of am/pm?

Depending on where you'd like to make the adjustment the solution will be different. Are you after changes in a form or the output on a specific page, etc. Please send a screenshot of what you'd like to adjust. Once the details of the target are clear we can then walk you through some possible solutions. This might also help you in where you choose choose to ask your questions. I suspect that this is going to be more about theming or form over-rides than Newspapers :)

You should also know that while knowledge of PHP is needed there is also a need to understand Drupal's framework to make the kind of change you're after. Effectively this is a project that would be a challenge for anyone who's just starting their efforts with Drupal.

Be brave, we'll get you through :)

K.,

For starters I'm not going assume anything about your knowledge level so please let me know if my explaination/direction does not provide enough depth. My goal with all of these types of threads is a reference that others can stumble upon later to help them as well.

Let's start from here: http://localnews.polestarstudios.com/story/sample-news-story-1. This is a basic node of the type "story" generated with a template file.

Step 1. In your theme folder, please post a list of all the files ending in ".tpl.php".

Step 2. There should be a file called node.tpl.php. Copy this file and rename it node-story.tpl.php

Step 3. Post a copy or screenshot of the source (HTML code) of this file.

I'll post further steps/questions once this information is available. I hope you don't mind a little back and forth.

Based on your code above, the date appears to be coming out of $content.

Please edit node-story.tpl.php with the following:

Post the results of the print_r command that will be output on the page right above the existing node content.

Want to try to use the localization moduleto change the display text with out altering code!

K.,

Wonderful that you've already tried "string over rides". I would still like you to provide the results of print_r as we're building a reference document for the community. There's a solution for you at the end of this process but I want this to be of value to others as well. I understand your concerns but the solution I have in mind will be more robust.

Be cautious of using the localization module to do simple output modifications. The load on your server can be quite high as compared to code (PHP) solutions. Effectively the localization module will scan all of the translatable text on your site to do a single text change (am -> a.m.) each time the cache is rebuilt. Seems like a very resource expensive route to take.

My bad, try print_r($node);

Now you have the details of what's available to you for display in your template.

bla bla bla...

Let me know if you get the idea as you're now free to call on any of the content found in the node object and format as you see fit.

Enjoy!

No, that's not going to work. I tried adding the PHP to a custom .tpl.php file, so it only affects the Time field. But I also left in the original coding, so I could see if the new date format matches the old one (with the exception of displaying a.m./p.m. correctly).

Instead, I get a completely different time that doesn't match the original time at all (even the minutes are wrong, so it's not merely a time zone problem).

I need a solution that allows the Time field to still display correctly; I simply need the am/pm changed to a.m./p.m., not rewriting the Time field, as that sets up all kinds of new problems.

I found a plug-in someone created for WordPress; it would be great to see something like this for Drupal. Here's the part of the code pertaining to a.m./p.m.:

Here are the two sections of code regarding field_time that show up from print_r($node):

And yes, I've posted a thread in the theming group as well.

That sounds like a possibility ... but I'd still need someone to walk me through the process. I've been able to make some PHP adjustments -- but only when I found directions online that said, "Do A, B, C, then D." Aside from carefully following directions and occasionally being able to extrapolate from someone else's directions, I am essentially PHP illiterate.

K, I don't know if you're using your own theme you've created or someone else's. If it's your own work great; if not, you might want to subtheme it and follow these instructions on the subtheme.

1. Go to your theme directory (typically sites/all/themes/THEMENAME).
2. Open up template.php.
3. Check to see if there's already a function called THEMENAME_node_submitted. If so you want to alter that function. If not you want to add it.
4. Here's the Drupal default theme function:
   
   function theme_node_submitted($node) {
  return t('Submitted by !username on @datetime',
    array(
      '!username' => theme('username', $node),
      '@datetime' => format_date($node->created),
    ));
   
   We want to change that to something like this.
   
   function THEMENAME_node_submitted($node) {

  $created=str_replace('am', 'a.m.', $format_date($node->created));
  $created=str_replace('pm', 'p.m.', $created);

  return t('Submitted by !username on @datetime',
    array(
      '!username' => theme('username', $node),
      '@datetime' => $created,
    ));
}
   
   Note, so if your theme's called new_theme_v1 the function name would be new_theme_v1_node_submitted

This is untested, so excuse typos; should work tho.

Hope that helps. Any Qs?

sorry, sorry, sorry. The same approach can still be used... but could you just let me know if you will want to be translating your site? (you can do it quick n dirty if not;)

Just out of interest, why are you using a Date field for the submitted date? Or have I got the wrong end of the stick?

Solution!

You can use stringoverrides and your string is !ampm-abbreviation am|pm|AM|PM going to !ampm-abbreviation a.m.|p.m.|A.M.|P.M.. Tada!

That works beautifully. Thank you!

Hi Katrina,

Realise this is a bit late... is this still an issue?

Andy

Hi, can I just confirm the setup? You have a CCK field from the Date module that uses a custom format for input and display that limits it to just time. The PHP date string you're using is something like h:i a. You use stringoverrides to change am/pm into a.m./p.m. but it isn't working on (any?) views.

It seems rather strange to me. Do you have a link where it's visible? It's definitely the CCK field that's not displaying correctly, and not some other field, or the node creation time? What's the style and row style for your view?

Cheers,

Andy

That'll be the problem. The strings you're overriding are provided by Date. I presume then that Date doesn't override theme_node_submitted which therefore doesn't use Date's functions. I can't tell from your post if the most appropriate value to display is the updated date or the CCK field; if you want the updated date, put the following in your theme's template.php (see comment further up for subtheming tips if necessary).

This will take advantage of Date's formatting function when available and fall back to the default Drupal function when not. (Not tested.)

HTH

This is a great thread. I want to do more or less the same thing Katrina wants to do - I'd like to apply span classes to various parts of a CCK date field (including the ante/post meridiem) so that I can target them with CSS. I originally tried to do it in a preprocess function, but that's obviously too late in the process. I discovered, as Katrina did, that that only works if you want all your dates to be December 31, 1969, 8:00am EST.

It didn't seem that String Override was appropriate for HTML, so I didn't try that.

Instead I created a "content-field-field_event_date.tpl.php" template with the following code:

, based on [#836936]

You could accomplish the a.m./p.m. piece here with an IF statement replacing am or AM with a.m., etc.

But then I was still left in the same place as Katrina, where I had solved the problem for nodes but not for views. I thought of creating date formats that only showed a piece of the date (just "A", or "g:i", for example), adding the date field to the view multiple times and setting each instance to display a different piece, and using the Semantic Views module to surround each one with the desired span. Problem solved, I think, until I realize that both pieces of this solution only work for a single date - if it's a range it doesn't work. Grr. So I'm back at square one.

The problem with every posted solution I've seen is that they come in too late in the process and override the (necessary) complexities of the date module. It seems to me what we need is a "Semantic Date" (like Semantic Views) module that would insert your desired formatting changes into the Date module output. I don't have the developer skills to do that, but I wish I did.

Any other brilliant ideas? This does not seem like it should have to be rocket science.