Difference between now() and today()

[#1]

Hi,

Can anyone please explain the difference between now() and today() with respect to below two expressions as they are giving me different outputs

=(date(now(),'DD/MM/YYYY')) - Output is 28/01/2014;

whereas =(date(today(),'DD/MM/YYYY')) - Output is 24/01/2014

But,when I copy this application to a new application both the expressions give the same result as 28/01/2014.But in an application which is already in use the outputs differ as mentioned above.Can anyone Please explain the reason behind this difference

[nilesh_gangurde]

Hi,

today() function will give you the Date.

but now() will give you Date along with timestamp.

and if possible please attach sample qvw .

-Nilesh

[#3 · Accepted solution]

Hi,

There is something called as Time Mode. Default Timer Mode for Today and Now differ.See the below explanation from Qlikview Help.

Since the default Timer Mode for Today() is 2 which returns the Date when the document was opened whereas for Now() default timer mode is 1 which returns Time at Function call hence the difference in the dates in your case.

now( [ timer_mode] )

Returns a timestamp of the current time from the system clock. The timer_mode may have the following values:

0 Time at script run
1 Time at function call
2 Time when the document was opened

Defaulttimer_mode is 1. The timer_mode = 1 should be used with caution, since it polls the operating system every second and hence could slow down the system.

today( [timer_mode] )

Returns the current date from the system clock. The timer_mode may have the following values:

0 Date at script run
1 Date at function call
2 Date when the document was opened

Default timer_mode is 2. The timer_mode = 1 should be used with caution, since it polls the operating system every second and hence could slow down the system.

Hope this helps!

[#4]

In both the case, You are defining your Date format, that's why same result...

[Anonymous]

To be more specific below 2 syntax will result in same output. where 1 stands for current function call.

=date(today(1),'DD/MM/YYYY')

=date(now(),'DD/MM/YYYY')