Email date placeholder formats

Introduction

In BDP email templates, both automated and manual, you can use placeholders to insert dates and times dynamically, for example, the date of a viewing {{ action.actionDate }} or the date a property was sold {{ property.soldDate }}. This page shows how to format those placeholders using the same specifiers as PHP’s date() function.

This allows you to control how a date appears in your message – for example, 31/01/2025, Friday 31st January, or 3:15pm.

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Placeholder Syntax

{{ bdDate ( placeholder, "format string" ) timezone flag }}

 

  • placeholder:e.g.action.actionDate, property.soldDate, etc.
  • "format string": a PHP date/time format (you decide how it looks).
  • timezone flag (e.g.1): whether to appply timezone conversion.
  • You must preserve the outer wrapper exactly (i.e. bddate(... ) 1), but you can change the format string.
  • You will notice the dynamic placeholder is placed within parentheses ( … ) rather than double curly brackets {{ … }} as the {{ … }} wraps the Syntax.

Example usage:

{{ bdDate ( action.actionDate, "l, jS F Y" ) 1 }}

→ “Sunday, 5th August 2024”

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Types of Placeholder

There are two main types of date placeholders:

  1. Event Date Placeholders

    • Example: {{ bdDate (action.actionDate,"l, jS F Y") 1 }} at {{ bdDate (action.actionDate,"H:i") 1 }}

    • Represents the date/time of a specific event, such as:

      • A scheduled viewing

      • An arranged closing date

  2. Property Record Date Placeholders

    • Examples: {{property.soldDate}}, {{property.addedDate}}

    • Represent a milestone or recorded date against a property.

    • These are fixed timestamps in the system (e.g. the day a property was marked as sold).

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PHP Date & Time Formatting

DAYS
d – day of the month 2 digits (01-31)
j – day of the month (1-31)
D – 3 letter day (Mon - Sun)
l – full name of day (Monday - Sunday)
N – 1=Monday, 2=Tuesday, etc (1-7)
S – suffix for date (st, nd, rd)
w – 0=Sunday, 1=Monday (0-6)
z – day of the year (1=365)

WEEK
W – week of the year (1-52)

MONTH
F – Full name of month (January - December)
m – 2 digit month number (01-12)
n – month number (1-12)
M – 3 letter month (Jan - Dec)
t – Days in the month (28-31)

YEAR
L – leap year (0 no, 1 yes)
o – ISO-8601 year number (Ex. 1979, 2006)
Y – four digit year (Ex. 1979, 2006)
y – two digit year (Ex. 79, 06)

TIME
a – am or pm
A – AM or PM
B – Swatch Internet time (000 - 999)
g – 12 hour (1-12)
G – 24 hour (0-23)
h – 2 digit 12 hour (01-12)
H – 2 digit 24 hour (00-23)
i – 2 digit minutes (00-59)
s – 2 digit seconds (00-59)

OTHER e – timezone (Ex: GMT, CST)
I – daylight savings (1=yes, 0=no)
O – offset GMT (Ex: 0200)
Z – offset in seconds (-43200 - 43200)

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Available Placeholders
Placeholder Notes
propertyDetails.datecreated Date property created in BDP
propertyDetails.stats.valuationCreationDate Date valuation appointment created
propertyDetails.stats.valuationDate Date of valuation appointment
propertyDetails.marketingDate, System recorded marketing date, see top of property page
propertyDetails.marketDate User recorded marketing date, see Selling Details widget
propertyDetails.stats.setOnline Date property set online
propertyDetails.espcPDate} Date property is published on ESPC – can also use for time
propertyDetails.closingDate Closing Date – can also use for time
propertyDetails.dateOfferAccepted Date offer accepted
propertyDetails.soldDate Sold date
propertyDetails.entryDate Date of Entry
propertyDetails.dateMissivesConcluded Date missives concluded
action.actionDate Date of appointment (Valuation, viewing etc.)

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Example Use Cases

Viewing Confirmation in Automated Business Rule (Action event only)

Your viewing for {{ propertyDetails.dispAddress }} is scheduled for {{ bdDate ( action.actionDate, "l, jS F Y" ) 1 }}

→ “Your viewing for 25 Tarvit Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9JY is scheduled for Sunday, 5th August 2024 at 09:45”

Closing Date Notification

The Closing Date for {{ propertyDetails.dispAddress }} is {{ bdDate ( property.soldDate, "l, jS F Y" ) 1 }} at {{ bdDate ( property.soldDate, "g:ia" ) 1 }}

→ “The Closing Date for 25 Tarvit Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9JY is 15/08/2025 at 3:15pm”

Sold Property Notification

{{ propertyDetails.dispAddress }} was sold on {{ bdDate ( property.soldDate, "d/m/Y" ) 1 }}

→ “25 Tarvit Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9JY was sold on 15/08/2025”

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Tips & Gotchas

  • Always use the correct placeholder for the context:

    • Use action.actionDate for future or scheduled events.

    • Use property.*Date for recorded system dates.

  • If a placeholder has no value (e.g. a property has not yet been sold), the output will be blank.

  • You can mix text with placeholders:

    → Your viewing is scheduled for Friday 31st January at 2:30pm.

    •  

    The BDP placeholder must retain the exact formatting above, however you may change the items inside the quotation marks (” “) as you wish according to the standard PHP time placeholders.

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